Sooo it’s happened again, this time with another person at another company… I must be doing something wrong because this behaviour happened before, I was trying to avoid it and somehow I triggered it again:
Say you want some information from somebody in the United States, how do you ask without getting the “Oh scary question! HIDE!” clamshell effect?
It’s the second time it happens to me, and being Dutch I know I might have been too direct, and pulled the rug from under them, but as a professional I expect something more than complete radio silence… the last time this happened I had to phone the guy’s boss to get the guy I was mailing to to answer my mails… (even a “we’re looking into it” or “I’m on vacation” would’ve done).
Mind you I know it doesn’t help my script kiddie skills enable me to know certain things and I tend to call it when some company is ripping me off: when it takes them 1 hour of work (-ish) for 1 sysadmin and they’re billing me 2000 Euro’s, is it weird on my part to ask for a detailed invoice, or what they actually did to warrant such pricing? (this is an example, the real situation is that I have three options to choose from, and I’m asking them, detailing my situation, what would best fit me).
So he has contrated some work that cost only 1 hour of time and they ask him to pay 2000 euros. Then he asks why he needs to pay 2000 euros and the people don’t answer him.
Just don’t pay. You will see how then they talk to you all you want and more.
For starters, I don’t know what this company is or does so is it possible that they need time to fulfill your request? Gather information and formalize it? Is it possible you are being impatient or have an unrealistic expectation?
As for 2000 Euros, again, I don’t know what the company is or does, but are you over simplifying what they do by saying one admin for 1 hours? Do you know this as fact? Technology can be very complex. Was it a standard solution you bought or something 1-off, customized?
Let’s also factor in the holidays, is there a lot of seasonal demand for this service/purchase?
I am NOT picking on you above, just pointing out there is not enough information here to make definitive judgments and/or give you answers, but in the end you are entitled. Any reputable company that takes money from you and cares about its business should be more than happy to give you explanation and is typically required to provide you a itemization upon request.
Lastly, is it possible you didn’t use a “real” company? Again, not knowing what, one can not give you answers.
If you honestly want some answers, you need to be more specific.
Sooo it’s happened again, this time with another person at another company… I must be doing something wrong because this behaviour happened before, I was trying to avoid it and somehow I triggered it again:
This needs to be rewritten so we know what company this is, what you were trying to do, what you needed done, what you triggered before which happened again, overall detail like that.
If you feel its two high, then there must be something driving up the cost, a 2000 pound gain is a 2000 pound loss somewhere else. I believe it has to do with fair market value, if its that high then I guess theres something thats not being done fairly so they jack up the price to make it fair.
Agreed that there is a discrepancy here. A good lesson is to have at the onset a quotation system, and the legal bindings along with that. As the holder of the funds, you have the option of delaying payment until the service is completed to your satisfaction.
OK, thanks for the advice people, turns out the situation is in the process of resolving itself… it’s the usual situation snafu none of either party involved caused. We’re now solving it
It’s about localization and the tools in DotNetNuke (a web CMS). The website was designed and built in march-august, and the true localisation tool from DotNetNuke only was available somewhere in November. The company building the website had a “work around” called “language selector tool”, and I failed to catch on when I saw the contracts in September… wait I’ll explain:
Campany A makes a website for Company B using DNN(dot net nuke), on paper a “language selector tool” is in the contract.
Website gets delivered, I get a full COPY for company C (on another server) in the beginning of December of said website to localise for europe… and I discover the “tool” is basically a hyperlink.
With a little research I discover DNN has a true localization tool since somewhere around November… and the contracts between the 3 companies (I’m with C) turn this into a nice three way problem, with nobody truly being to blame.
But now that the situation is identified, people on all sides are responding to emails again.
