Reply to: BOOMED - but no rate increase!

[psychocandy]

So why do you continue to work with them ?

BTW the agent is NOT your agent. The agent acts on behalf of the client. If more contractors understood this a lot of the grief and angst on this forum would disappear.

Close to home, long-running contract. Of course, I understand the need to balance this out against my steadily decreasing rate....

[Wanderer]

BTW the agent is NOT your agent. The agent acts on behalf of the client.

Not quite: The agent acts on behalf of the AGENT.

[Justin Control]

I like my client. However, they do take the piss constantly and expect little extras for free. I feel that sometimes they arent willing to look at my angle otherwise. I've got them out of the tulipe so many times recently I feel its a little short-sighted to even refuse to get into a dialogue with me (or my agent) about the rate.

They just assume I'm going to renew at the same old rate. Also, they can never even be arsed to do it until 2 days before normally. Record 7 days in advance this time. They just ASSUME I'm going to stay.

So why do you continue to work with them ?

BTW the agent is NOT your agent. The agent acts on behalf of the client. If more contractors understood this a lot of the grief and angst on this forum would disappear.

[d000hg]

A true contractor, goes in, completes a project, and gets out. They do not need to "Prove their worth" - they just need to deliver what is in the ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE.

And by delivering it, they prove their worth..

[SimonMac]

So the good old days where the client just gave a 5-10 quid/hour raise across the board to every contractor usually about every 6 months is over then?

You can always not accept the extension!

[tractor]

...

Where on earth has this attitude of increase on extension come from? I've noticed it alot over the last few years. You're no more valuable now, than you were at the beginning of your contract (unless someone has shot everyone else with your skill set in the meantime), so why would anyone give you a raise?

There are tonnes of benched people out there, chomping at the bit to get into these contracts - it's a buyers market - so unless some kind of drought of contractors in your specific skills area has arisen, I would suggest that in this economic climate, you should be grateful to be offered more work instead of being benched - not getting hacked off because a client won't pay you more for a job you've been happy to do at this rate for the previous 3, 6, 12 months.

It's business. Try telling your story at the petrol pumps or to British Gas or O2 lol.

You gotta go for as much as you can get. If it doesn't come off, so be it, but you have to try!

[psychocandy]

So the good old days where the client just gave a 5-10 quid/hour raise across the board to every contractor usually about every 6 months is over then?

Yep. Most definitely. I've found that current client seems to think once your in there then that rate is good for the next 1000 years as far as they are concerned - never ever to be increased.

[Stan.goodvibes]

So the good old days where the client just gave a 5-10 quid/hour raise across the board to every contractor usually about every 6 months is over then?

[psychocandy]

I had a client that left the renewal till the 11th hour once. I warned them plenty of times and by the time they came around to getting the paperwork done I had a few quite promising interviews lined up. They ended up having to give me a 10% rate increase to get me to drop the interviews and extend the contract.

They have been pretty much on the ball since then though.

Think thats what I need to. Trouble is theres so much red tape with this client that even if I scared the local managers to death they still wouldnt even be able to get things sorted any quickers (its all done in France ultimately).

[Wanderer]

I dont understand the clients thinking. If they sorted it out and got me signed up 4 weeks to go I probably wouldn't even have looked on jobserve or thought about alternatives. As it goes now, it gets closer, I get twitchier and even though I'm 90% sure they're going to renew, I start looking around.

I had a client that left the renewal till the 11th hour once. I warned them plenty of times and by the time they came around to getting the paperwork done I had a few quite promising interviews lined up. They ended up having to give me a 10% rate increase to get me to drop the interviews and extend the contract.

They have been pretty much on the ball since then though.

[psychocandy]

Paperwork - **** that. no chance.

Im lucky to get a verbal nod a week in advance. Even then I've got to chase the agent to at least confirm with an email.

[lukemg]

I have always been chilled about this but usually look for a nod either way, with a few weeks to go even if paperwork not sorted. Been stung one time when told the game had changed on my last day and expected 3 monther was not happening but ok otherwise.
I would normally consider giving the agent a nudge about an increase after 12 months or so, depending on market and how much I wanted to stay. I would just say, ok that's been 12 months, any scope for an increase in rate, no threats etc ? Client and agent shouldnt object to that. On a couple of occasions I didn't care and probably wanted an excuse to walk so dug in hard for more money. They caved on one (not happy) and I left the other one (good for sanity but not for finances).
On the subject of being a key person, forget it, a week later they can't remember your name, people fill in, someone else picks up, another option is chosen etc.

[psychocandy]

I would never let a renewal go that long. I have regular discussions along the way wilth my clients and make sure we both know when the time is up...

I hassle the agent 4 weeks to go, agent phones client for next three weeks and client doesn't return phone calls. 1 week to go I have a quiet word with client and ask him to phone agent. 1 day to go and it finally gets sorted. Pisses me off a bit because its the same every time.

I dont understand the clients thinking. If they sorted it out and got me signed up 4 weeks to go I probably wouldn't even have looked on jobserve or thought about alternatives. As it goes now, it gets closer, I get twitchier and even though I'm 90% sure they're going to renew, I start looking around.

Not happened yet, but one day someone's going to offer me a contract for more money and with a week to go on my current one and no sign of life from client, I'd be a fool not to go for it. Then client is going to be sitting there thinking - oh no what just happened? Whys he left? No handover, no anything potentially.

Dodgy - do you understand the clients mentality here or is this fairly common?

I must admit in the past, contracts with other clients have been sorted out well in advance. Sometimes even before I'd realised they were due up in a month.

[northernladuk]

I'm the opposite to that. Yes my work's project based but I'm a business man so I don't go in there with the blinkers on and work to rule. Wherever I can I like to build a relationship with the client with a view to adding them to my list of contacts so I can cut out the middle man when working for them again in the future.

Sorry if that's treading on your toes but that's the way I do business.

I don't think what you are saying is opposite Wanderer. I think you both have very valid points. I think what TAV is saying is you are taken on to do a job because you are a specialist. You don't come in and after 3 months sit there proud as punch cause you have proved you can do it. You are a square peg in a square hole for the purpose of the contract. Doing the work you were taken on to do doesn't then give you the right to say I am good at what I do give me a rise.

What you are saying Wanderer is a good professional approach and that combined with TAV's approach to the actual work is what makes a professional contractor. I would expect you to also do is give advice and support in other areas as you find it and combine this professionalism and skill to add value outside the scope of your contract. THEN you can start looking for rate rises as you have proven extra value to the business.

[Wanderer]

What utter tosh. A true contractor, goes in, completes a project, and gets out. They do not need to "Prove their worth" - they just need to deliver what is in the ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE. They DO NOT have a job description - as to have a job description, is to be a permanent member of staff.

I'm the opposite to that. Yes my work's project based but I'm a business man so I don't go in there with the blinkers on and work to rule. Wherever I can I like to build a relationship with the client with a view to adding them to my list of contacts so I can cut out the middle man when working for them again in the future.

Sorry if that's treading on your toes but that's the way I do business.