Posted: Wed 2 September, 2015 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 1BEM, Agency Idiocy, Business, Corbett, Customer Services, Geeky, Laziness, Marketing, People, Stupidity, Thoughts |
Yet again, today there’s a story about another place revealing a confidential list of customers in emails – and as usual, in what’s known as a Corbett round here (courtesy of a certain Irish marketing person) it’s looking like the leaker sent the email using CC instead of BCC.
In this case, the information is even more sensitive than usual, as it’s people who’ve used a particular STI clinic in London, and may have also revealed their HIV status. Oh, bloody whoops.
It amazes me how often this seems to happen – and how easy it should be to fix.
The first answer is, obviously, train people.
But after that, it’s about defending against laziness and stupidity. But even that’s pretty easy.
All it really needs is a block on recipients in CC. If you’re sending an email and it’s got more than (say) 10 addresses in the CC field, it simply asks if you’re sure you want to send it with those people in CC rather than BCC. That’s an email-client thing – but is easy to do.
It can’t be that difficult – my own email clients all already ask if I want to send an email with no attachments if the message contains keywords like ‘attached’ or ‘CV’, after all.
A similar thing could be done on the mail-server as well – put in a rule that if there’s more than [defined limit] of addresses in the CC, it doesn’t send without an authorisation, an acknowledgement that this is OK.
There will still be the odd blithering fucktrumpet who manages to send out a whole mailing-list in CC (or even To) – but at least make it harder for them to do so.
Surely that’s not asking too much?
Posted: Tue 9 June, 2015 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Advertising, Agency Idiocy, Bad Ads, Cynicism, Domestic, Driving, Housing, People, Thoughts |
Three years ago, when I was looking at moving (and ended up where I still am now) there were a couple of other places in the running – they fitted my plans, location and cost wise, if nothing else.
I go past one of them regularly on commutes, visits to parents and the like – so I see it come back on the rental market every six months or so (which is, not coincidentally, the usual period for a first short-term tenancy)
It’s pretty grotty, and right on a busy main road, so I’m not surprised it’s regularly in need of new tenants – and it looks like this, so it’s hardly appealing…
That’s the only photo of it. There’s nothing of the inside at all – which always triggers my alarm bells, and is why I didn’t even visit it, so I’ve no idea what it looks like inside. I can’t imagine it’s much good though.
Even the sales description doesn’t do it any favours.
A One bedroom cottage situated on the outskirts of [village]. The property benefits from a parking area to the side and views of the countryside to the rear. Offered Unfurnished and Available Early July.
Entrance to Rear, Kitchen, Lounge, Bathroom, Double Bedroom, Shared Courtyard Garden, Double Glazed Windows, Electric Heating.
What fascinates me is that people choose it at all. OK, it’s dirt-cheap – although actually still a bit more expensive than the place I ended up with – but that doesn’t make it an appealing proposition. I’d imagine it’s even less of one after you’ve visited, seen the location and heard the road noise.
So I do wonder what type of person chooses it, and why. And (of course) where they go next, once their six months there is done…
Posted: Wed 25 March, 2015 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Agency Idiocy, Customer Services, Cynicism, Domestic, People, Thoughts, Work-related |
With one of the current jobs, the agent/agency involved has been insanely needy all the way through – regularly calling, wanting to “catch up”, and generally been a complete pain in the arse. He’s absolutely incapable of following simple instructions – for example, “My mobile doesn’t work when I’m at home, so don’t call, just email” – he’s not managed that once. Always calls three or four times, then leaves a message, and so my phone goes into meltdown when I do leave the house.
Anyway, after yet another splurge of these, he asked how the contract was going, to which I replied that it was OK, but not brilliant. He asked why, and I told him – it’s not what I’d been told, not what I was expecting, and just generally isn’t great. (It’s one of those things, and I can live with it – besides, there’s only two weeks to go on it, and I won’t be renewing/extending)
And you know what? Since then he’s been absolutely silent. No acknowledgement, no calls, nothing.
All of which just makes me think that actually, he’s a bit of a tosspot. He’s pushed so hard for communications and catch-ups, but when he hears something that might mean doing something, he runs a mile.
It’s a safe bet that I probably won’t work through that agency again. It’s not a big issue – there’s loads of the buggers out there – but it’s just a bit annoying.
Ah well. Two weeks. That’s all, just two weeks to go.
Posted: Wed 9 July, 2014 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Advertising, Agency Idiocy, Cynicism, Domestic, Work-related |
I got a survey by email today from Randstad Technology, asking about skills required for management and leaders, as well as about Career Progression etc.
Now, glossing over the fact that my version of “Career” is to use the definition of “to move swiftly along; rush in an uncontrolled way” (as in ‘Careering downhill’) – and thus not really relevant to me, and my opinion not being really relevant to it – there’s a couple of pretty glaring errors on the second page, which amused me somewhat…
So I’m assuming that the third top attribute should be ‘numeracy’, and one of the three top skills should be “attention to detail”…
Posted: Fri 13 June, 2014 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 1BEM, Advertising, Agency Idiocy, Creativity, Customer Services, Cynicism, Web Development, Work-related |
The current place has just launched a new product for their customers. They’re proud of it, and they’re flogging it now.
It’s been called “Alternative Reporting System for Executive Decisions”.
No-one – not one of ’em, not marketing, not the board, no-one – has realised what the acronym for this product is. And they’re launching it.
I could tell them. I can’t be arsed.
[I so wish I was making this up. But I’m not]
Posted: Thu 17 April, 2014 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 1BEM, Agency Idiocy, Domestic, Finances, Work-related |
This current contract has had one major downside – the agency in question have the worst pay schedule I’ve ever seen.
Of course, there are also quite a lot of other downsides, which is why I’m not going to be extending or renewing the contract anyway. But that pay schedule is definitely a contributory factor to the entire thing.
It’s come through an agency I hadn’t previously dealt with, and while they did say that the job paid monthly (which is fine with me) they carefully didn’t explain quite what they meant. This tells me that they damn well know the pay schedule is insanely broken/dodgy, but can’t be chuffed to do anything about it.
Usually, a monthly contract is paid by dint of the contractor submitting an invoice and getting paid seven days later. All well and good. You have an invoice deadline of (for example) the 23rd of the month, submit by then and get paid for month-end.
Not with this agency. Oh no.
You submit your invoice for the end of the month. They then take three weeks to pay, *and* still send it BACS, so it takes three days to hit your account. So, for example, the invoice for March, submitted by the ‘March’ deadline of 4th April (don’t ask) doesn’t hit a bank account ’til 18th April. (Which is a bank holiday – something the agency only realised when I asked them what they were doing about bank holidays) For me, because this one has gone through an Umbrella company, I don’t get paid ’til the next working day – the Tuesday after Easter.
My colleague who started on 31st March won’t get paid til the 23rd of May.
In short, that’s shocking. And I can’t wait to get paid (three days before my contract ends).
Posted: Sun 23 February, 2014 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Advertising, Agency Idiocy, Cynicism, Pedantry, Stupidity |
While out and about this weekend, I spotted this sign, and simply had to stop and take a picture of it…
Romans Estate Agents, you had one job, and this is what you get…
(Amusingly, their website also claims “a thorough approach to every aspect of our business”)
Posted: Wed 8 January, 2014 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Agency Idiocy, Business, Cynicism, Getting Organised, Own Business, Work-related |
With the current contract ending in two week’s time, this week marks the start of getting back into applying for new ones.
It’s not too bad a thing – and I’m so used to it, it’s just not really stressful any more – but does make me organised when it comes to keeping the CV up to date, and managing my own profile on shit like LinkedIn and (my favourite) JobServe.
I hate LinkedIn with a passion. However, it’s now the ‘go to’ site for lazy recruiters, so I kind of have to have a profile there and so on. I’ve made connections with some decent recruiters (and a whole horde of crap ones) but I don’t think I’ve ever actually got an advertised role from LinkedIn. I actually get all my jobs through either
- recruiters I’ve worked with before or
- JobServe
Still, I keep my profile on LinkedIn – I suppose one day it may be useful. I can’t really think of what kind of situation that would be, but one remains optimistic.
In the meantime, back to sending out CVs in response to ads, and dealing with recruiters with little to no clue about what the jobs actually entail, or what parts of skillset are truly relevant. Joy and happiness, be unconfined…
Posted: Tue 20 August, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 1BEM, Agency Idiocy, Customer Services, Cynicism, People, Travel, Work-related |
Despite having agreed to a contract, I had one interview that pre-dated that acceptance, and rather than piss people off by saying “I’ve taken a contract, so cancel the interview”, I’d decided to still go. The agency in question have been a ‘mare, asking me no less than three times to confirm that I was going. (and no, they’re not aware of the now existing contract offer) On each occasion I’ve replied to the original interview confirmation, with the relevant agency recipients copied in.
I went to the interview today in the company’s Northampton office, got there in plenty of time, waited outside reading my book (Well, Kindle, but same thing) and went in on time. Only the person I was meant to be seeing wasn’t there. No worries, they said, we’re sure he’s on his way. We’ll call and check.
I waited quarter of an hour, and in that time got a call from the agency. I ignored it – no way am I taking calls while I’m waiting for an interview to start. On this occasion, maybe I should’ve done.
Anyway, the person I’ve been dealing with in the office comes back in, and explains that actually I’m supposed to be meeting them in – um – Coventry. Even better, I’m not the first person this has happened to with this agency, I’m the second. To do it once is a fuck-up. To do it twice is to be a fuckup.
Needless to say, once I got out of the office, I went ballistic at the agency, who really don’t quite know what to do with themselves about it. If it were someone else involved, I’d probably laugh. (And come tomorrow, probably I’ll laugh too)
In the meantime though, it’s been a totally wasted afternoon, and has necessitated a complete reorganisation of the interview – not just day and time, but also location. It’s now on Friday, late afternoon, near Heathrow. Yep, late in the day, just before a Bank Holiday weekend. I suspect I may just be cancelling that one, once all the contract paperwork is through and completed…
Posted: Mon 7 February, 2011 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 1BEM, Agency Idiocy, Business, Cynicism, Design, Geeky, People, Stupidity, Work-related |
Via the linguistic/literacy genius known as Sevitz (or Svetzi) comes this gem…
Oh. My. God.
I’ve worked with some spectacular options for Yes/No, but this one is way up there.
Posted: Fri 29 January, 2010 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Advertising, Agency Idiocy, Creativity, Cynicism, Thoughts |
When I went to see “Avatar”, I got in in time to see some of the adverts before things started – not just the trailers and ads, but the localised ones that show while people are coming in.
I don’t know how much they cost – they’re just basic flat ads with not much happening – but one caught my irritation all the same. It was for a company called Selesti, and was just a plain white page with blue text saying “We make websites”, and some contact details.
It was pretty much the dullest ad in the set – an achievement in itself – and really surprised me. For a company that’s supposed to be all creative and whizzy, the ad didn’t speak of any of that. It actually conveyed “We paid for this, but really couldn’t be arsed to do anything with it”. Even if they’d used “We Write Websites” it would’ve been better, and would’ve at least implied the connection to www. addresses/domains. But no, “We make websites”.
I wonder how much business Selesti have gained through this ad at the cinema? Even more, I wonder how much they’ve lost…
Posted: Tue 12 January, 2010 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Agency Idiocy, Business |
If you were to get this from an agency, what would be your response?
2 urgent PHP contracts to strart in next 2 weeks
[Skillset list – I won’t add it all here]
1 Junior and 1 mid/senior level
Thanks
And that’s it.
My written response was probably more civil than it should’ve been, because my mental response was “Up yours, fuckbag. You can’t even be arsed to put the location or rate, so fuck you.“
Posted: Mon 14 December, 2009 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Advertising, Agency Idiocy, News, Thoughts |
First of all I have to say that I really don’t give a tin shit about Tiger Woods, who he has (or hasn’t) shagged, or anything else about the situation. Not my business. Don’t know him, will never know him, don’t really care what he does with his life, wife, others, or anything else.
However, I did find it funny today that Accenture have decided that in light of his activities and revelations, Tiger Woods is no longer ‘the right representative’ for them.
For those who don’t know, Accenture used to be Arthur Andersen, a global outsourcing and consultancy company.
In my experience, consultancy companies come in all full of themselves and how great they are, fuck you up all over the place, charge extortionately for the privilege, and then screw off with the money, leaving a shitpile of fuckuppery behind them.
As such, I’d say that Tiger Woods right now is the perfect person to represent them…
Posted: Tue 29 September, 2009 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Agency Idiocy, Charm School, Customer Services, Depression, Domestic, Thoughts, Work-related |
Today I got a call from one of the agencies I’ve been dealing with, and all of a sudden everything changes.
The contract I was supposed to be starting on Monday has been cancelled. Apparently the directors of the company in question have decided that the project won’t go ahead, so they’ve pulled the budget for it.
And lo, no job for me. All my paperwork had been signed, ID stuff sent and the like and now it’s all for fuck-all.
This is one of the things I hate about contracting over having a “proper” job – and that’s a pretty small list, believe me – that things like this can happen at the drop of a hat. If it were a ‘proper’ job, the project decisions and budget would all have most likely been sorted well before it came round to getting someone to do the work. It’s something that seems to have been happening quite a bit this year, and it’s not something I’ve seen prior to this. Sure, I’ve had one contract come to an end before it was supposed to – and I’ve had plenty more extend well past when they were supposed to finish – but up ’til now I’ve not had to deal with ones that get cancelled before they start.
It leaves me at a bit of a loose end, as I’d already closed off the current contract to end on Friday so everything was ready for Monday’s start at the – now non-existent – new place.
So I’m back to square one. Sending out updated CVs, talking to agencies, going to interviews.
I won’t deny, it’s been a serious hit on me today – I’m not feeling great anyway, so this has just been kind of the last thing I needed. All told, it makes me want to chuck in the entire thing and head off to Pastures New (or at least Pastures Different) with a totally different job/career/work-life.
It won’t happen yet, no matter how much I want it to – but I think it’s something I need to start properly working towards. (And I know, that’s not grammatical – I just can’t think of the grammatical way to put it)
In summary? Today’s bollocks. Next week ain’t looking good, either.
Posted: Wed 4 February, 2009 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Agency Idiocy, Own Business, Work-related |
Just received this from an IT agency – nothing like short notice, I suppose…
I need a contract PHP Developer for a 3-week contract in [Deepest Darkest Essex]. The role involves building a new website for a school.
Work onsite at first but home working is also offered.
Candidates are required to interview today and it is an immediate start.
So – not overly realistic, although I suppose there might be a local developer who’s in need of immediate work…
Posted: Tue 6 January, 2009 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Agency Idiocy, Customer Services |
Another in an irregular series of posts about the incompetence of agencies. (And I’ve added a new category for it, so I’ll have a trawl through the archives at some point in order to add a few more to the category)
We’ve been in Norfolk now for more than two years.
So it’s a bit of a surprise (although not entirely unexpected, due to the agency in question being a bunch of twunts) to get an email today detailing a contract in a very junior role doing HTML and CSS. For £10 per hour. In Kent.
In short, no fucking chance. And all it really shows is that this particular agency – I haven’t yet decided whether to name-and-shame, although God knows, it’s tempting – really know fuck-all about the people on their books. (Oh, and don’t update their records at all, despite repeated requests to do so)
Twunts.
