Reply to: How many times (if any) have you been "bobbed"

[mos]

Now, an English PM would typically try to bluff me and get me to agree to an estimate of two or three months. But the Indian PM wanted me to do it in one or two weeks. About the same amount of time it had taken them to produce the graphical mock-ups.

Anyway it gives you an idea why bobs just say "yes" to everything. When you're dealing with managers like that, everything becomes sort of meaningless. I didn't take the project.

Bobco may bluff that they own "reusable assets" and have expertise.
That's when they will be trying to hire unsuspecting Western freelancers to actually do the job.

[ChimpMaster]

Never. I've just been bobbing about too much myself. You can throw a Bob at me, you will miss.

During the financial crisis I was once so desperate for work I agreed to a phone interview with BigBob Agency. I got the impression that they had all the problems of a typical bureaucratic paranoid British large IT company except multiplied by ten.

They had bought into a number of complex proprietary technologies that they wanted to get working together. The project manager presented me with a greenfield project using these things that would obviously go on for six months, or maybe years if things went wrong. Now, an English PM would typically try to bluff me and get me to agree to an estimate of two or three months. But the Indian PM wanted me to do it in one or two weeks. About the same amount of time it had taken them to produce the graphical mock-ups.

Anyway it gives you an idea why bobs just say "yes" to everything. When you're dealing with managers like that, everything becomes sort of meaningless. I didn't take the project.

Good point well made.

The problem is - and it surprises me - that so many of our client's British management falls for this "Yes" talk. It's like all they see is someone saying "Yes" to getting the job done for a 30% cost saving. Management here are totally oblivious to the fact that the project/support will fail and will cost several times what the Yes man quoted. But one thing was blatantly obvious at one of the IBs I was consulting at: mid to senior management there were all having their pockets lined to offshore dozens of not hundreds of UK jobs.

[darrenb]

Never. I've just been bobbing about too much myself. You can throw a Bob at me, you will miss.

During the financial crisis I was once so desperate for work I agreed to a phone interview with BigBob Agency. I got the impression that they had all the problems of a typical bureaucratic paranoid British large IT company except multiplied by ten.

They had bought into a number of complex proprietary technologies that they wanted to get working together. The project manager presented me with a greenfield project using these things that would obviously go on for six months, or maybe years if things went wrong. Now, an English PM would typically try to bluff me and get me to agree to an estimate of two or three months. But the Indian PM wanted me to do it in one or two weeks. About the same amount of time it had taken them to produce the graphical mock-ups.

Anyway it gives you an idea why bobs just say "yes" to everything. When you're dealing with managers like that, everything becomes sort of meaningless. I didn't take the project.

[Zoiderman]

More of a Shaunyfatboy type post but he now favours just chipping in from the back riding on someone else's back to add his not inconsiderable-fat-bastard-type-weight to the proceedings.

FTFY

[minestrone]

I am back at a 'big financial' I was at about 5 years ago, they have certainly changed their attitude to projects and outsourcing, they used to fire of greenfield work to them with the expected results. I witnessed a project oursourced for a quote of £100,000 and it had to be brought back when it hit 10 million and still not working. Our public sector might be crap but they still manage to bring back projects at around 5 times over budget, 100 times is quite something. Most probably deliberate.

They now only get maintenance and support work and are constantly supervised.

[amcdonald]

It won't be but I don't think people believe outsourcing is the solution they thought it was.

Either way why is it only people called Robert who seem to be totally useless.

Because there's only so many good bobs to go around, and as they're capable of earning a decent crust over here they soon figure out being an ICT is a raw deal, and that tatafornow etc rip them worse than any spiv agent

[eek]

Funny story thet, because something like that happened to me just last week. I was asked by a PM whether a certain on-shore Bob was any use to me: I said No, I had barely spoken to the guy but from what I know he's pretty sh1te. I didn't want to be the bringer of Doom unto this guy but it just so happens that I was, and so he will be let go next month.

In his place, a trusted ex-colleague contractor that I know will be brought in, paid more but certainly capable of more too.

Is this the beginning of the end for Bob and his gang? Dare I hope for so much?

It won't be but I don't think people believe outsourcing is the solution they thought it was.

Either way why is it only people called Robert who seem to be totally useless.

[ChimpMaster]

Back in my permie days I was 'given' two bobs to lighten my workload. After a while the Project Manager mentioned costs were rising. I told him he could save money by binning the bobs and letting me do the work instead of wiping their ar$e$ all day long.

Bob's were packed up & gone before the end of the week.

I suppose I was de-bobbed rather than bobbed. Do I win a prize?

Funny story thet, because something like that happened to me just last week. I was asked by a PM whether a certain on-shore Bob was any use to me: I said No, I had barely spoken to the guy but from what I know he's pretty sh1te. I didn't want to be the bringer of Doom unto this guy but it just so happens that I was, and so he will be let go next month.

In his place, a trusted ex-colleague contractor that I know will be brought in, paid more but certainly capable of more too.

Is this the beginning of the end for Bob and his gang? Dare I hope for so much?

[Sysman]

Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along

[darmstadt]

Me bobbed today:

[mos]

Back in my permie days I was 'given' two bobs to lighten my workload. After a while the Project Manager mentioned costs were rising. I told him he could save money by binning the bobs and letting me do the work instead of wiping their ar$e$ all day long.

Bob's were packed up & gone before the end of the week.

I suppose I was de-bobbed rather than bobbed. Do I win a prize?

[bless 'em all]

Back in my permie days I was 'given' two bobs to lighten my workload. After a while the Project Manager mentioned costs were rising. I told him he could save money by binning the bobs and letting me do the work instead of wiping their ar$e$ all day long.

Bob's were packed up & gone before the end of the week.

I suppose I was de-bobbed rather than bobbed. Do I win a prize?

[Sausage Surprise]

Funny that, this current gig the manager was offered 5 Bobs or an onshore contractor and he hired me.

More of this common sense management approach please

[Churchill]

I heard you'd bought cakes again and didn't want to miss out. Just for the record though, I don't like fruitcake.

Now who's being homophobic?

[MarillionFan]

More of a MF type post but he now favours just chipping in from the back riding in on someone else's post to add his not inconsiderable-fat-bastard-type-weight to the proceedings.

I heard you'd bought cakes again and didn't want to miss out. Just for the record though, I don't like fruitcake.