"U want police to
see u today? Dr Sing"
I messaged the IT
consultant at 1.15 pm on this
sunny day, Tuesday Jun 2, 2009.
For at least 3 weeks, my
receptionist and I phoned him
using my two office phones and my
mobile phones. He would not answer
the phone. As if he was a scam man
who had got what he wanted and
acted like one who now ignore the
phone calls of an unrequited
lover.
Well, he had collected money from
me to buy the hardware and
accounting software. He had said
that he would train my staff every
day till they learnt how to use
the software.
Mr Yip, a printer was in my office
to let me know the quotations of a
magazine. I told him my problem of
the IT consultant.
"He had run away and would not
answer my phone calls for the last
few weeks," I sought Mr Yip's
advice as I sometimes do on
personnel and office matters. Mr
Yip is a quite a helpful person. A
moderately successful printer, he
thrived while many of his peers
had closed shop. They became his
non-paying "salesmen", outsourcing
their work to him and he gave them
their commission for the referral.
"Why don't you go to his office?
Where is it?" Mr Yip asked.
"In International Plaza. It is a
serviced office," I said. "So,
probably he would not be there."
"You should not do business with
an IT consultant who has a
serviced office", Mr Yip gave this
excellent advice. "You should pay
for good quality IT consultants
who will do a good job." If I
could afford it, I would. My
philosophy is also to help those
small firms by giving them my
small business and this IT
consultant had faxed me (mass fax)
one day and I contacted him. As
for the high quality IT
consultants, they had their hands
full and would not be interested
in my custom. Nor could I afford
them.
"Well," I said, "I had seen his
testimonials of small companies
whom he had executed
computerisation done work for
after getting the grants for them
from Spring Singapore. He had
proposed to get a grant for me
from Spring Singapore. We were in
the middle of the work. However,
he just would not return my phone
calls."
This is an incredible story. Why
would a self-employed IT
consultant not return phone calls
when his business growth depends
on good services and referrals?
Had he gone bankrupt? Or had he
disappeared like the rogue lawyers
of Singapore? Was he conducting a
scam? Just for a few hundred
dollars from me? And several
others?
"You can go to Spring Singapore to
lodge a complaint against him," Mr
Yip suggested.
"Yes, I can do that." I said. But
how do I resolve my problem? This
IT consultant had not handed me
the CD of the software. The trial
of this software would end in 12
days' time.
"Please use your phone to contact
him," I asked Mr Yip who is an
excellent salesman as well. He
dialed. The IT consultant answered
the phone promptly. So, he was not
dead and was still in business. Mr
Yip handed his phone for me to
answer. As I did not want to
implicate Mr Yip in this
incredible story, I declined. Mr
Yip asked the IT consultant to
meet at the consultant's office to
buy computers. The consultant
replied that he would call back. I
thanked Mr Yip for his help and
went out for lunch.
So, this IT consultant was alive
and kicking. Why the odd behaviour
of not returning my phone calls?
To find out what is the problem?
To resolve the problem in an
amicable manner. Obviously there
must be some problems. It was the
problem of training my staff to
use the computer and he had no
time for them.
Now, he was not your average young
man. Impulsive and hot-tempered.
He was in his forties. A
soft-spoken man and we had never
exchanged angry words. He came for
two days to train my staff on how
to use the MYOB accounting
software. However, my staff could
not use it. So, he abandoned the
Titanic. After all, I had paid for
the necessary new computers and
software.
Is
this the right thing to do?
To simply ignore the customer's
pleas for help without referring
him to another person to resolve
his problem?
"No business man is totally honest
and upfront," Juliet, a senior
manager in a statutory board said
when I told her my problem. "You
are not proactive. So, this thing
happens." In other words, I had
inertia. I should have a set of
procedures to handle him but then
I was not into project management
like Juliet who had backing of
support staff in the tender for
computerisation.
Over 15 minutes during lunch-time
I dial the IT consultant. I dialed
and re-dialed. He just would not
answer my phone. If he was busy,
he could have returned calls
during the past week. Or
text-messaged me that he would be
coming to my office. That was what
he did last time although once he
failed to turn up. This was an odd
behaviour from a fully grown up
man. So was he a scam man?
Yet his phone number was still
active. I could go to a public
phone and call him and he would
have no choice but to answer. So,
why should he behave like a
fugitive?
At 1.15pm, I thought of the
solution. To text-message him.
"U want police to see u today? Dr
Sing" . No response for 5
minutes. In 20 minutes, I would
walk to the Toa Payoh Police
Station and lodge a report for
cheating. The IT man had not
handed over the CDs and I could
not use the MYOB software in 12
days' time.
15 minutes after my SMS, the IT
consultant texted that he would be
coming to see me. Within 30
minutes, he was at my office.
It is just so sad that I needed to
drop the name of "police" to get
him to provide service. "I had
been busy," he explained and said
that he would be in my surgery
every day till my staff is trained
to use the software. I had my
doubts. He said he had left the
CDs in my office. But we could not
find them. "There was no proper
handing over," I said to the IT
consultant.
This is just a sad but incredible
story. Not all self-employed
business-men or those with
serviced offices are crooks. They
do need the business to learn and
grow and whenever I have the
choice, I will try and help them.
I mean, the fat cats don't need my
business and they are sometimes
busier than this disappearing IT
consultant. In any case, I
can't afford their services and
they know that too. So, it is
practical that I work with the
small operators. Only that I did
not expect this IT consultant to
behave so strangely.