MY IT Consultant sux, but he's my bosses bro! 1

[TekkieDave]

We have an IT Consultant on retainer, who is unreliable, not always available, and not very knowledgable.

He's a nice guy I guess, but he just doesn't know his stuff. Not as well as he should anyway.

The problem is that he is my bosses brother. How do I get him out without insulting my boss?

Help!!!
Dave

 

[dogbert2]

Having relatives work in a firm is never a good idea, unless the relatives all pull their own weight. I think you are just gonna have to bear the burden for this 'relative', and it's not a uncommon problem, since a
lot of nepotism seems to be the norm any longer, rather
than the exception.

 

[CajunCenturion]

You must choose your battles carefully. This is not one where the odds are in your favor.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[SgtJarrow]

You first need to document the issues at hand for which this consultant is failing.....keep a list for a week or two as to what the problems are. Then go to your boss (or his boss if you are not comfortable with him and their is higher staff) and explain to him your complaints.

Done in this fashion, you are not so much as griping, but you are instead identifying the fact that his brother is costing the company money and resources. With ammo such as this you will semm professional and looking out for the company...

=======================================
People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world. (Calvin from Calvin And Hobbs)

Robert L. Johnson III
CCNA, CCDA, MCSA, CNA, Net+, A+
w: rljohnso@stewart.com
h: wildmage@tampabay.rr.com

 

[Zelandakh]

Grin and bare it. I understand your troubles.

OK, just bare it. I gave up grinning some time ago...

 

[SgtJarrow]

Canjun and Zelandakh,

I disagree with your viewpoints to grin and bear it....While I agree you must choose your battles, I think that just letting something as this slid only perpetuates this kind of performance. If tekkieDave approaches this carefully and methodically, he can insulate himself from any retribution or at least cover himself in the case they try something.

With proper documentation and demonstration of the "slacker" not pulling his weight, if his boss did not do anything, or tried anything against TekkieDave, he would have valid grounds for legal action. (BUT I in no way support law suits!)

By not doing something, TekkieDave is only going to get more and more frustrated with his job and his performance will suffer. Eventually he may quit or even be fired because of this individual, and then he has no one to blame but himself.

It is the responsibilty of TekkieDave's boss to curb his brother's performance in the workplace. It was said that having relatives in the workplace is never a good thing...and I agree, because it perpetuates this type of situation. But that doesn't mean it is right and that one should just stand by and watch.

=======================================
People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world. (Calvin from Calvin And Hobbs)

Robert L. Johnson III
CCNA, CCDA, MCSA, CNA, Net+, A+
w: rljohnso@stewart.com
h: wildmage@tampabay.rr.com

 

[DrJavaJoe]

I'm trying to think back if I have ever had a boss that I couldn't just say, "What's going on with your brother he's so unreliable" and the answer is no I never had one. I suppose if you had a boss that you had to call Mr Jones and say yes sir and no sir too, it might be different. I don't think I would want to work in an environment where I couldn't say "hey Bob did you see that Laker game yesterday and by the way your brother didn't show up again today, has he always been this flaky?" Obviously if your boss is the emotional type don't hurt his/her feelings but it is the brother so you are probably not telling them something they didn't already know. I would mention it to your boss adjusting the content based on the type of relationship you two have.

"Two strings walk into a bar. The first string says to the bartender: 'Bartender, I'll have a beer. u.5n$x5t?*&4ru!2[sACC~ErJ'. The second string says: 'Pardon my friend, he isn't NULL terminated'."

 

[chiph]

Having worked at a family business in the past ---
There's no way to win. They'll go home, discuss it over the dinner table, and the next day you'll find yourself packing your personal belongings.

Try watching some "American Chopper" on Discovery Channel. Mikey is totally unreliable, ends up costing them money, isn't sure which end of a welder to hold, and at any other business wouldn't last out the week. But he's family, so they keep him around. Watch the other employees there -- they know, but they don't say a word.

Chip H.


If you want to get the best response to a question, please check out FAQ222-2244 first

 

[MDXer]

I agree with the grin and bare it, but also play CYA. Any phone calls or conversations should be followed up with an email. Whatever you do I wouldn't go to your boss' boss as this would be seen as going over his head, which could land in a not so good position. Keep your documentation that way when someone finally asks Why this or that isn't done or something takes so long that is the responsibility of the consultant they can't point the finger back at you.

"Shoot Me! Shoot Me NOW!!!"
- Daffy Duck

 

[RiverGuy]

Chip --

I thought Mikey was the one who answered the phones, and only worked on the bikes from time to time for fun.

I thought the main guy, Pauley was the one getting yelled at by his dad for not being where he is supposed to be.

LOL

 

[harebrain]

Yeah, Pauley is the flake. Mikey wants to learn the work and really get into the business. Aw, heck, let's face it: none of them are that much of a prize.

 

[OhioBill]

I told 'em what to do, but as usual it don't matter." - paraphrased from American Chopper.

The things to remember here are:

The man is a consultant, he'll eventually be history.

He's family. You aren't going to win this one so long as you work for a member of the family.

Even if the company ditches the consultant, you aren't going to get any of the money they save.

What you can do is document, as in a journal, everything that happens with the consultant and the boss. This is very important no matter what the outcome is. I speak from personal experience here, as I once watched a heated confrontation between sharks and a pilotfish. When the fish dropped a three inch stack of paper on the desk with explanation, "I've documented all the conversations..." the sharks backed off about five miles and found someone else to hang out to dry. One was actually shaking.

The other thing you can do is transfer, either departments or companies. When you leave, you'll have a journal of your own accomplishments along with examples of the current waste of time and money. While you're there, keep in mind the consultants' credo: If you can't provide a solution, there's good money to be made in prolonging the problem.

 

[ecobb]

If you can't provide a solution, there's good money to be made in prolonging the problem.

I see it happen every day! TekkieDave, I'm in almost the same boat you're in, only it's not family, just a really good con-artist.



Hope This Helps!

Ecobb

"My work is a game, a very serious game." - M.C. Escher

 

[TekkieDave]

I don't work with him everyday,he mainly comes in if we need help with network/server issues, but he's the pits. He really soesn't know his stuff, and recently, when I asked him to set something up in specific (dynamic disk volumes for a w2k server), he said some crap like "Just so you know, volumes really refers to a novell setup, not windows, windows uses partitions", as if I don't know what I'm talking about, meanwhile, Volumes are used in windows to refer to Dynamic disks, partitions are setup on basic disks! I swear this is true, I'm studying for my MCSA as we speak!


Uuuhh, I really needed to vent.

 

[CajunCenturion]

It seems that some have the notion that this is an issue of competance and/or technology. In this, the real world, it is neither. This is about politics.

If you choose to wage a technological competance battle on a political stage from a subordinate position, then you have almost no chance to win. Even if you do win, it's likely to be a Pyrrhic victory.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[mac9]

A PC tech consultant I've worked with calls it the 'Little Timmy' syndrome, as in...
Little Timmy (my brother's, secertary's, friend's gardener's son) is a wiz with computers, he can stop by after school and setup the dynamic disk VOLUMES on our new W2k server.

Good Luck Dave.

 

[AnanthaP]

Maybe consultant is just a way for him to get some income without attending ffice regularly. Looks like he knows he doesn't know (nice guy I guess ..).

So let him be. You should be able to budget him in as an overhead in a way that is acceptable to your boss.

End

 

[rasETL]

Tekkie Dave

I've been a consultant for seven years, and therefore feel insulted when I hear of someone who can't "walk the walk". If this person is being paid an hourly rate that befits a Subject Matter Expert (SME), but he/she is not providing SME level work, you need to get rid of that person.

That said, I would first see if you can find out what this person is getting paid. Maybe he is getting token pay for token work. In that case, because it involves your boss, you grin and bear it.

If the pay is premium, but the work is sub-standard, you need to find a way to get that person in a position where others "experience" his/her lack of knowledge. If others start to complain, your boss may decide it is not worth HIS reputation to continue.

Hope that helps

 

[TekkieDave]

The consultant is getting paid $120 - $130 an hour, and we had him on retainer for 10, or 20 hours, plus whatever else. It's ridiculus. here is an example of his ineptitude.

I got a server donated (we're a non-profit), and he came to build it to replace a dying Novell server. He came for 4 hours, then said, "I have to take the server back to my shop, b/c i don't have all the proper tools.", so he takes the server off the site for 5 days, then says, the RAID controler is dead.

2 weeks go by, and the server that was supposed to be replaced dies.

So I have to put up a W2k server to replace the novell server in like 2 days, instead of like 3 weeks, which added much stress to my work.

Finally, i tell him to buy the raid controller, so he says ok. 3 days go by, and he still hasn't ordered it. Then he says, ok I'll order to it today (wednesday), and it'll be here on friday, and so I'll bring the server in tuesday (tomorrow).

i e-mailed him today, and he says, "The RAID controller will be in tomorrow or the day after, and when I get it, I'll build the server and bring it in the next day."

Is this guy ridiculus or what? We're a non-profit, we don't have money to be wasting on this guy!

 

[DrJavaJoe]

Is the environment not one in which you could casually bring up his incompetence to your boss? "I know Bob is your brother, but because of his skill level it's making my job harder. Maybe when he comes in we can have him focus more on non technical things." Now this will only work if it could be said in jest, where you can both laugh about it, but atleast he'll know of your concerns. If not I then think you should make every effort to steer him away from any work that would affect your equipment. Maybe coming up with some suggested task that he can do while there.

"Two strings walk into a bar. The first string says to the bartender: 'Bartender, I'll have a beer. u.5n$x5t?*&4ru!2[sACC~ErJ'. The second string says: 'Pardon my friend, he isn't NULL terminated'."