Reply to: Bit of help needed, has anyone worked for these guys?

[psychocandy]

Whatever happened to the gool ol fashioned 'Throw the phone down tactic'?

Me? I put the phone down carefully in the other room and go watch TV or something for half hour. When I come back they have always hung up. How rude!

Black Apple is another one that gets the same treatment.

Yes thats fun. I've done that in the past.
Had a guy trying to get me to go for a local council gig. Crap rate. I said no straight off but he kept phoning me with crap about how I would feel good about myself doing stuff for the community. Obviouslt thought I was dull enough I couild be convinced.

5th phone call I did this. Certainly wouldnt waste 15 mins of my time listening to a bob agency abuse me about a contract I wasnt interested in.

[tractor]

.....

Whatever happened to the gool ol fashioned 'Throw the phone down tactic'?

Me? I put the phone down carefully in the other room and go watch TV or something for half hour. When I come back they have always hung up. How rude!

Black Apple is another one that gets the same treatment.

[stek]

I get Silverlink on regularly with a role in Sweden, 350 Euro/day (seemingly unaware of the Swedish Kronor), I always asked for £850/day to price myself out, but they always go up 450 Euro/day and want my assurance that I do indeed speak Swedish (I don't!).

I tell them about Swedish taxes/taxman and the price of a pint there and they don't care. Pity the poor contractor that gets dumped out there on the pathetic initial rate.....

[pointyfinger]

It would be even funnier if these people were not fooling with peoples lives! Since saying no, I have had a call and several emails from them, calling me unprofessional and saying they wont use me again. Fine, that suits me! Silverlink, take a bow!

The rate was comically low, and even if I had been able to get the contract made half sane, the costs of traveling to a major european city and being away all week would have left me with very little.

The tactics they used to try and get me to take the job were disgusting. Long intense phone calls trying to persuade you and bullying tactics. Yesterday I told them that I had another interview since speaking to their customer and wouldnt give them a decision until I heard back from them, they told me that "we wouldnt have put your forward if we had known you were applying elsewhere". That was when I posted on here. Subsequently the same Client Account Manager sent me an email supposedly forwarded on from the Onsite Manager asking them to find a replacement for me if I didnt agree to the job that very day. Not cool.

When trying to say a polite no thanks, I was subjected to 15 minutes of brow beating about how they were doing me a favour and how I was being greedy asking for more money. Regardless of what the local rates there might be, or the pathetic profit margin Silverlink have agreed with their client, I still need enough money to get there and back, feed myself, feed my girlfriends shoe addiction and pay for my home. Had I accepted, I would have been making less than £400 a week after all deductions.

I am glad I didnt take the job, and very grateful to the people who replied to this thread and who have posted in the past about Bob agencies. I get the term Bob (after much googling), but tulip though, how did a pretty flower get lumbered with the tarnish of turd?

[GillsMan]

I enjoyed the part where they wanted ownership of everything you've ever made or go on to make!

Haha, yeah, that was one of my favourites too, including my simple "No, we cannot assign our IP to your company" response. I might as well have just written "do one".

[vwdan]

Good for you! I know it's a difficult decision, but if more people took the brave decision you have, it would send out a clear message. And maybe large organisations who use tuliphouses like Silverlink would think twice.

I enjoyed the part where they wanted ownership of everything you've ever made or go on to make!

[sal]

Good for you! I know it's a difficult decision, but if more people took the brave decision you have, it would send out a clear message. And maybe large organisations who use tuliphouses like Silverlink would think twice.

I know what you mean with this, but the sad truth is that most of the senior management, that takes the decision to engage with the said tuliphouses are perfectly aware that the service will suck. They only care that the decision will save the company £X from the next budget earning them £Y in bonuses plus a likely kickback from the tuliphouse. The fact that a couple of years down the line it will take the company 10x£X to recover from the appalling state of it's IT is not their problem, as they would have moved on by then.

[GillsMan]

Lol, your global replace rather gives the client away

Hahahaha yup! Have fixed now.

[mudskipper]

I just dug out the document I sent to them requesting they change some of their terms. In fairness, they did agree to some of them, but not all, and I decided to walk away, and let the client know why. I've replaced client's name with "XXX", but you'll get the idea. I wrote this a few years ago, and my knowledge is definitely better these days, so there might be a few things I got wrong, but you'll get the idea.

Lol, your global replace rather gives the client away

[GillsMan]

Good for you! I know it's a difficult decision, but if more people took the brave decision you have, it would send out a clear message. And maybe large organisations who use tuliphouses like Silverlink would think twice.

[pointyfinger]

Thanks for all your help! I had done some research on here before I put up my post and got the jist that its a bad idea. The fact that the agent got angry with me was a huge alarm bell. The contract was (in line with other posters) sent with their initial introduction letter, and they are now saying I have already agreed to its terms by being put forward for the role.

Despite being on the bench 4 weeks longer than I would like, and money getting tight, I wont be taking this role!

[GillsMan]

I just dug out the document I sent to them requesting they change some of their terms. In fairness, they did agree to some of them, but not all, and I decided to walk away, and let the client know why. I've replaced client's name with "XXX", but you'll get the idea. I wrote this a few years ago, and my knowledge is definitely better these days, so there might be a few things I got wrong, but you'll get the idea.

[vadhert]

The words 'barge' and 'pole' spring to mind.

[GillsMan]

What PC said. They're a joke. Here's something I've mentioned about them previously.

http://forums.contractoruk.com/busin...ml#post1811499

[psychocandy]

Silverlink = tossers to be avoided if you can.