What Do You Do When Outsourcing Goes Bad? 751
Xphox wonders: "Recently we have been referred to an outsourcing company to finish customization on a script that the author had no time to complete. Everything was going fine until recently. At what point do you consider they may have just ripped you off, and how do you know when to file complaints and withhold payment?"
"I have been working with what I thought was a reputable outsourcing company, referred to me by the author of the software package. We agreed that payment would be made once everything was completed. After a few missed deadlines, the project finally seemed to be finished. The only thing left was a small bug fix, and an install script which needed to be completed. As agreed, he delivered the install script, and we made the final payment. Upon testing the new install script we noticed things did not work as intended, and all attempts to contact the outsourcing company has resulted in the following answer:My fear is that if I don't act now, I will not be able to recover any funds, and will be stuck with a product that is useless. It has been 9 days since I've received an email from them, and I'm starting to think I've just been taken advantage of. Since the script is protected with Source Guardian, I am unable to finish the modifications myself."'My guys are still working on it.'
Simple test here: (Score:5, Funny)
Saving your bottom line. (Score:5, Funny)
1: Stop payment on cheque.
2: Demand refund of deposit.
3: Get one return ticket to contractor's location via Expedia [expedia.com].
4: If 1 or 2 fail send return ticket to "IcePick" Vinnie.
5: Pick up Vinnie at airport in a couple of days.
6: Take money home and count it or enjoy photos of mangled corpse(s).
7: ???
8: Profit!!!
Hell, itll bite you. (Score:5, Funny)
So they take the program, rip out all the shit (a surprising percentage of it), and rewrite the whole thing pretty much from scratch in the course of a week. They finally get it working, and hand it into the boss, without telling him how badly they got fucked by the outsourcing. The boss is impressed by the quality of the code, and decides that the next project they do should be sent to the same firm. Luckily, my friend wasn't around the next time they went with the low-cost outsourcing.
When to ask (Score:2, Funny)
EULA? (Score:3, Funny)
If so, you're probably SOL. I've never managed to get my money back from Microsoft due to the bugs in their software either.
It probably said something about this EULA superceeding all previous EULAs and contracts too.
(Note to the humor-challenged: this is a joke. Sorta.)
Tried this (Score:3, Funny)
Ice PIck Vinnie (Score:3, Funny)
On the other hand, Igo Kutchyakokov is reserved for over seas operations. He works with a marvelous Japanese Italian negotiator, Makya A. Soprano, related to the New York City and New Jersey Soprano families.
You now own a writeoff (Score:3, Funny)
Sometime between when you receive code obfuscated by Source Guardian and when you ask Slashdot about it.