QUOTE
currently, I sub-contract website coding to a friend of mine. I have given this person roughly $12,000 worth of work last year and about ½ of that so far this year. I've been very happy and as far as I know this person has been too. (Unless they are lying to me ) Lately, I've been having problems with communication and what I like to refer to as cherry picking work.
For example, a client comes back a month after a website job has been completed, with an addition. ( This is an addition that I can not do. ) I then email my friend describing what the client needs and ask what it would cost to make the addition. I get no reply. I call, I get voice mail. Leave a message, no return call. So now I am stuck. I can not provide regular service and updates (paid ones) to my client.
Now, if I send work to my friend that's of more value, I get a prompt response.
What I am wondering is if I am expecting too much from a contractor? For those of you who do contract work, do you provide regular service to the person who contracted you the work? I do, no matter how in significant it may seem to me because I know that good service results in an increase in business. I grew my company solely on word of mouth and I still continue to get new business because my clients love the attention they get from me.
It does not good to me if I can not offer my clients updates/additions to their websites that I/Contractor created for them. Of course, I know some will say I need to learn how to make these additions, and I can do some of them. But the areas that I can not involve back-end admin capabilities and databases, and a custom shopping made shopping car that this person created. I also do not have time to learn these things, though I would like to eventually. I am busy doing my work and servicing clients.
Am I doing something wrong or do I just need to look for some one else? Do programmers not want to be bothered with small updates?
For example, a client comes back a month after a website job has been completed, with an addition. ( This is an addition that I can not do. ) I then email my friend describing what the client needs and ask what it would cost to make the addition. I get no reply. I call, I get voice mail. Leave a message, no return call. So now I am stuck. I can not provide regular service and updates (paid ones) to my client.
Now, if I send work to my friend that's of more value, I get a prompt response.
What I am wondering is if I am expecting too much from a contractor? For those of you who do contract work, do you provide regular service to the person who contracted you the work? I do, no matter how in significant it may seem to me because I know that good service results in an increase in business. I grew my company solely on word of mouth and I still continue to get new business because my clients love the attention they get from me.
It does not good to me if I can not offer my clients updates/additions to their websites that I/Contractor created for them. Of course, I know some will say I need to learn how to make these additions, and I can do some of them. But the areas that I can not involve back-end admin capabilities and databases, and a custom shopping made shopping car that this person created. I also do not have time to learn these things, though I would like to eventually. I am busy doing my work and servicing clients.
Am I doing something wrong or do I just need to look for some one else? Do programmers not want to be bothered with small updates?
