Reply to: Is this agency having me on.....

[DallasDad]

Yep I drove to Chester, it isn't that much further plus we were going Xmas shopping there for the day anyway.
I was more miffed that I wasted some of my time stopping off in Wrexham on the way because of some brain dead pimpette who had no idea which office she was in.

Wrexham shopping wise in no way compares to Chester according to swmbo!

Thinks........is pimpette the femine of pimp?

[psychocandy]

I got faffed about by Hays but what the hell it is only time and the resultant gig has proven worth it.

Them - come to the Wrexham office to confirm ID and sign client confidentiality agreement.
Me - arrive find the place is locked up.
Ring Ring
Them - Oh sorry did we say Wrexham we meant Chester...
Grr.

What you do then? Surely not drive to Chester.

I had similar with Hays. Come to the office at 3pm. No - Im still finishing previous gig 70 miles away not possible. I'll come at 7pm. OK dont worry just fax it to us.

[DallasDad]

I got faffed about by Hays but what the hell it is only time and the resultant gig has proven worth it.

Them - come to the Wrexham office to confirm ID and sign client confidentiality agreement.
Me - arrive find the place is locked up.
Ring Ring
Them - Oh sorry did we say Wrexham we meant Chester...
Grr.

[spongeym]

I've conducted a Skype call for my current contract. The client is a high profile Public Sector, they wanted verification that I was who I said I was in my Passport, took literally 3mins of my time, 1 min was spent resetting my Skype password.

[BlasterBates]

A skype call sounds convenient otherwise you have to go into the office.

[psychocandy]

Im betting its an agency incompetence thing. Would I do it? Yes if it wasnt too much hassle.

Its like the ID thing before you start a gig. Got to see you face to face etc. I've never been forced to do face to face because its always been awkward. If its local and I'm not finishing off last gig then no issues, if its 200 miles, whole day then nope. But then I know that most agencies will make an exception if you say nope.

[jmo21]

Sounds pretty stupid on both sides.

Unless it is an onerous amount of time to do it, what's the problem? They've even acknowledged this possibility by giving you an option to do it via Skype to make it easy.

[TestMangler]

Having met you I don't doubt that for one minute lol...

It was a lot easier to apply your principles when I started though. There were more contracts than contractors. Freelance Informer, faxing CV's, jumpers for goalposts etc. I don't envy anyone who started since about 2008.

Oh, and to the O/P.....as NLUK would say, you're a business now. Make a business decision. If you want the job, jump through the hoops the agency place in front of you, if you're not that fussed, tell 'em to do one. They may cave in to your demands, they may not. Make your decision and don't cry about the outcome, either way.

[northernladuk]

True

Thankfully, I've cycled past the finish line, but having said that, I applied the 'don't **** me around' principle from a very early point in my contracting life.

Having met you I don't doubt that for one minute lol...

[TestMangler]

Where as that is correct it does take a long time for many contractors to reach this level and be able to apply this type of thinking. It's like the evolution. Start off being a permie with a different pay structure, every penny counts, holidays are expensive, start fretting towards the end of a gig, bench time is evil until one gig end and suddenly your while perspective changes where you can turn down gigs, look forward bench time and so on.

Depends where you are in the cycle.

True

Thankfully, I've cycled past the finish line, but having said that, I applied the 'don't **** me around' principle from a very early point in my contracting life.

[northernladuk]

Being a contractor does not mean you have to take it up the arse to keep the money coming in. In fact, it means the exact opposite. If you choose to allow a client to tulip on you, that's your business, so is refusing to accept it.

Where as that is correct it does take a long time for many contractors to reach this level and be able to apply this type of thinking. It's like the evolution. Start off being a permie with a different pay structure, every penny counts, holidays are expensive, start fretting towards the end of a gig, bench time is evil until one gig end and suddenly your while perspective changes where you can turn down gigs, look forward bench time and so on.

Depends where you are in the cycle.

[TestMangler]

Didn't someone post recently that they were not allowed to invoice 8.8 days so walked out on principle?

If you have principles be a permie. If you want the money, be a contractor.

Just do what they ask. Be nice.

I am sure your accountant will agree.

What a dumbass thing to say. believe it or not Brillo, some of us don't have massive tax debts or divorces to pay for, so if a client tries to take the piss, we tell 'em to piss off, on principle.

Being a contractor does not mean you have to take it up the arse to keep the money coming in. In fact, it means the exact opposite. If you choose to allow a client to tulip on you, that's your business, so is refusing to accept it.

[quackhandle]

Dougie, do the call. If it is a waste of time, you chalk it up to experience. If you secure another gig, with a different client - provided you get that far - and they ask for the same thing you can decline. However YMMV.

Good luck. Don't forget to post what snacks the vending machine has and if there's any decent totty on your floor.

qh

[MrMarkyMark]

FTFY

HR have never been fluffy, especially in IB, since they changed their name from personnel and outsourced themselves to <insert large agency name here>.

Bar Stewards every one.

[northernladuk]

HR have never been fluffy since they changed their name from personnel.

Bar Stewards every one.

Well yeah. That's a good point. I'm probably going of experience from 10 years ago where they didn't appear to be next to useless ..

Sod it.. Who am I trying to kid. Bar stewards.. All of 'em.