Something that’s been happening a little more recently is random people getting in touch with me looking to outsource my web design. Which is a slightly interesting sell, as that is precisely the business that I am in.
Mostly it’s email, the occasional painful phone-call but today it was Skype. Goodness knows how he got onto my contact list, but he did. Invariably the individuals can barely type, punctuate or converse in competent English, and quite often it’s clear from their ‘chat’ that they have no idea what they are selling or more importantly what I do.
Sometimes, to keep myself sane, I try and sell back to them, like my old R.E. teacher who used to invite Jehovah’s Witnesses into his house and try and convert them to Christianity for his own entertainment. Today’s victim was ‘Rob’ from ‘New Jersey’, working at Cat Technologies.
Rob Wilson: Hi, This is Rob Wilson Working as a BDE with CAT Technologies Ltd
Andy Croll: Hello, have we met?
RW: Not, i got your skype id through google. I would like to talk in regard of Web Development services
AC: You’d like some web development done?
RW: Not, We are an Offshore software development company
AC: I don’t use offshore developers, I do my own development. It’s the only way I can guarantee my work is of the best quality.
By the way your website doesn’t really make it clear what you do. You could get someone to do a usability review on it, I’m reasonably priced if you’re interested?
RW: not, we are into Custom Software Development, Web Development, E-Business Applications, SEO and many more…
AC: Do you mean ‘no’ rather than ‘not’? I think you do.
I think perhaps that if you don’t want me to do some work on your website (which is a bit of a mess if I’m honest) then I’m not sure I can help.
RW: I’ll let you know anything arises
AC: I’m sure you will, Rob, I’m sure you will.
Chat Ends. Block Rob.
How these companies expect me to outsource work to them is beyond me, if you can’t even be bothered to put someone knowledgeable and coherent in touch with me and have even a basically decent website, why in heavens name would I send you work?