Bogus Job Quotes

[glorybound]

Is it just me, or is this getting out of hand?

2-3 times a week I get someone asking for a quote, but when I press for answers, their story falls apart and I realize that it is someone wanting to know what they should charge. It always comes from a URL with no web page associated to it, the PDF always has the border cropped off, and when you probe, they disappear. It is an immoral practice, in my opinion, and it should stop.

[Pixelcon]

So ask for a business name and address that you can direct the quote to. When they dont provide one, then you dont provide a quote. nbd right?

[glorybound]

yep! that's basically what I do.

So ask for a business name and address that you can direct the quote to. When they dont provide one, then you dont provide a quote. nbd right?

[Neilg]

we had someone apply for a job recently who it turned out was probably just going to skim through our contacts, read some contracts and leave after a month. it's happened to us before and our CEO spotted it. we did some research and asked him why he really wanted the job when he already ran a small studio etc and never heard from him again. The first miami client for a job we did that went public got a call from him recently - the client was a friend so they told us about it and it was the same guy.

people will always do shady shit to get ahead, they'll never stop trying.

[glorybound]

Now, that's awful, but clever.

we had someone apply for a job recently who it turned out was probably just going to skim through our contacts, read some contracts and leave after a month. it's happened to us before and our CEO spotted it. we did some research and asked him why he really wanted the job when he already ran a small studio etc and never heard from him again. The first miami client for a job we did that went public got a call from him recently - the client was a friend so they told us about it and it was the same guy.

people will always do shady shit to get ahead, they'll never stop trying.

[Neilg]

Most clients don't really appreciate unsolicited phone calls along the lines of 'I know how much you're paying for this, i can do it cheaper' anyway.

[jujubee]

I get that quite frequently. Often it's from people starting out but once I find out I make sure to point them in the right direction - to value their time.
When the math starts to make sense, hopefully they're charging reasonable enough rates that they are not going to undercut everyone else.

[glorybound]

All they have to do is be honest; I think we'd all help then.

I get that quite frequently. Often it's from people starting out but once I find out I make sure to point them in the right direction - to value their time.
When the math starts to make sense, hopefully they're charging reasonable enough rates that they are not going to undercut everyone else.

[Morbid Angel]

we had someone apply for a job recently who it turned out was probably just going to skim through our contacts, read some contracts and leave after a month. it's happened to us before and our CEO spotted it. we did some research and asked him why he really wanted the job when he already ran a small studio etc and never heard from him again. The first miami client for a job we did that went public got a call from him recently - the client was a friend so they told us about it and it was the same guy.

people will always do shady shit to get ahead, they'll never stop trying.

Just send a few of these fellas his way:

http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/E9Iv3U3GusU/maxresdefault.jpg

[PIXELBOX_SRO]

We get this very often, motly from general emails like gmail, hotmail etc.
When its not company email, we hardly bother to reply.
If its company email and the person doesnt provide phone number, we dont reply either.

We had to take these precautions because i used to spend half a week just doing calculation for smart asses

[glorybound]

I have been following the same approach. I did have a client use his hotmail account, I questioned his practice and he got a little heated, and it ended up that he was sincere.

We get this very often, motly from general emails like gmail, hotmail etc.
When its not company email, we hardly bother to reply.
If its company email and the person doesnt provide phone number, we dont reply either.

We had to take these precautions because i used to spend half a week just doing calculation for smart asses

[jujubee]

I had a $35,000 job off of an AOL email once several years back.
After that experience, I don't dismiss generic emails. Never ever.

I've also had several other clients that brought in several thousand using MSN, gmail, etc. accounts. They tend to be older people or individuals that don't spend much time in front of computers.
I've been tempted to dismiss these addresses but it's been about 50/50.

So, you tell me if it was worth it.

[PIXELBOX_SRO]

Defo worth it
To be honest when i get such mail i always judge by the way it sounds and then decide....but 90% of times generic mails are bogus for us unfortunatelly.

[jujubee]

I suppose the general rule of thumb is to remember to not be rude ever via email or phone.
There might come a point in which they can help you out and vice versa.
Plus the last thing you want too is someone bad mouthing your services on the Internet.
And of course there's the off chance that someone you don't think is being genuine turns out to be.
Unless you're getting approached with 10 quotes a day, it's probably worth answering one or two every couple.

If you're really short on time, I suppose one can always not reply or do what Pixelcon suggested and ask for a business name and address to which you can send them information.
Or if you really suspect them of phishing (sending you plans in an abnormally orderly fashion like they know what they're doing), shoot them an extremely high number so that they come down to an average one lol.