Contacted by ex-employer

[Emu]

Im glad I signed up here the other day now, maybe I can get some suggestions on how to handle a situation.....

I was made redundant at the start of this year, I was pushed out really and had a case for unfair dismissal but didnt bother to follow up with it as I wanted to focus on setting up on my own and didnt want the uncertanty of a case, also, I dont think you actually get that much cash from a claim of this type.

Today, 5 months after I left work I have found an email from my inbox from my old manager wishing me well and basically begging me for help.

I did everything correctly when I left and I handed over everything/explained that people should disable my accounts and make new ones etc.

It seems that, in my absense, no one knew what they were doing and they locked themselves out of several systems that they need access to, one of these is google analytics/tag manager. I am going to assume at this stage that they removed the wrong accounts from the admin panel... however, I do know that someone else recently left and they may have left on quite nasty terms and made things a little difficult to access.

Now the email I have been sent today basically asks if I can help, I am fairly confident I could restore access to the accounts as I used to manage over 100 adsense accounts and from time to time I needed to recover hacked/stolen/old accouts, I had around 80% success rate.

In the email I was sent today there was no mention of paying me anything to investigate just asking if I could help.

I dont want to mention the company by name but it is big, they advertise on TV regularly and have serious budgets.

Im not good at talking about money/asking for things and quite socially awkward to put things mildly, I have not replied to the email yet and will wait a few days before doing so.

Does it seem acceptable to ask for a few k for helping them out? What would you do?

Im not planning on working for anyone else again, am not worried about a reference/making friends or been popular but would like to make the most of this situation so I can get some more money to put into my own business.

Thanks for reading if you got this far!

 

[WebDesires]

Well done for the "setting up on your own", however you need to realise fast that freebies will cost you dearly and now your not someones slave this is actually completely unacceptable.

Yes charge them, yes make the price high. If they dont want your help then thats fine. You are now under the term "business", use it wisely and always to your advantage.

There's a thing about helping the little guys which I'm a sucker for, but only when you can and it doesn't bust your balls - anything else, everything else is costing you time and far more money than you think when you weigh in other clients needing you, tax, vat, extra stress and etc.

 

[MAWuk]

Absolutely charge them for it. What would another consultant charge to remedy it. I would squeeze them as hard as possible in the nicest possible way but make sure you get either all the money up front or a big chunk of it in case they try to pull a fast one on you thinking you'll rollover.

 

[soundengineeruk]

My method is to be helpful and always to talk to people for free (within reason), but I don't work for free so I charge for the time I spend hitting keys whist developing..

 

[ServWise]

Find out what a consultant would charge (£50/£100/£500 an hour? More? Sorry I don't know your field) and then double it, work how long you would take to do the job, tell them there are no guarantees but you would do try your best. Ask for payment upfront. If they are as big as you say they are then they can afford it and if they wont bite then they it wasn't that important to them and they were hoping for a freebie.

 

[Page]

First you have to decide if you want to help them or not- you may not but it sounds as if you are up for it

Then you have to decide if you want to charge them as little as possible - or as much as possible - or something in between

You also have to decide if you want to gamble a bit on whether they will give you the work

So if you say you will sort it for 10p they will bite your hand off
If you say £1M - I suspect they will find another solution

So you also have to think about what you sorting out might be worth to them - what would they value it at
If you think they would say 10K - then even if it is only a 10 min job but you say 5K they will bite your hand off

I that is not being unfair to them
They are a business trying to maximise their profits - and so why should you not have the same approach to them

Now what happens is that normally there is a sort of market rate - but if you have some very specialised skill or knowledge etc then that rate goes up etc etc

Now you are going to have to work with your personality and I don't think you are going to negotiate this very well

You say they have treated you badly - and now they are your best mate - because they want something from you. Not because they care about you

So what should you do ?
Get some more opinions and have a think about it and what you want and but also what you can do
But don't roll over and let them take the mick
For me if they were saying £200 to sort it out and I felt what you had said at the start- I think I would wish them luck and leave it at
(Let them reap what they sow)

I might be tempted to open the process - but after doing all the above so that I was sure I knew where I was coming from - by sending an email saying that you are busy at the moment and so you do not really have the time - keep it short and very open ended - negativeish but not no - so open

They will probably come back and say blah blah - and then you start to get a feel for where they are

Only do it by email - this gives you time to think - and allowing for your personality it is probably better

 

[Page]

And payment up front etc

These big companies are not always that nice or trustworthy you know

 

[Mad Frog]

They are hoping to take advantage of you, don't waste time with them, send them a polite reply stating you can do the job and the cost (think higher rather than lower) and then leave it. If they want your services they'll soon be back, else don't waste any more time on it.

 

[The Byre]

So far, everything here has been pretty much on the money. It's a business transaction, so treat it as such and charge the usual going rate for the gig. I would not go over the top with high rates, but then I would hardly want to discount my rates to these people either.

Who knows! They might turn into regular customers!

Just make sure that you get everything in writing and on paper. emails are not on paper and despite all the gung-ho noises we hear about an on-line society, courts really do still like paper and ink.

 

[Newchodge]

So far, everything here has been pretty much on the money. It's a business transaction, so treat it as such and charge the usual going rate for the gig. I would not go over the top with high rates, but then I would hardly want to discount my rates to these people either.

Who knows! They might turn into regular customers!

Just make sure that you get everything in writing and on paper. emails are not on paper and despite all the gung-ho noises we hear about an on-line society, courts really do still like paper and ink.

Most courts prefer parchment and quills, but perhaps you have seen some that are getting more up to date ;-)))

 

[Lloyd N8N]

You were pushed out of the company, yet you are wondering whether to help them out for free?

I'm all for being a nice guy, but it doesn't sound like they were too nice to you when they wanted rid.

Say of course you can help and put down your fee. It's up to them to accept or not.

 

[The Byre]

Most courts prefer parchment and quills,

Mostly for my own amusement, I very occasionally, when asked to 'seal' a document, bring out a signet ring with our coat of arms on it and sealing wax and a lighter and provide the real thing.

The very old legal beagles beam with nostalgia, in a symphony of pinstripes and arthritis. The younger ones look on, open mouthed, each like a gaffed salmon.

 

[Newchodge]

Mostly for my own amusement, I very occasionally, when asked to 'seal' a document, bring out a signet ring with our coat of arms on it and sealing wax and a lighter and provide the real thing.

The very old legal beagles beam with nostalgia, in a symphony of pinstripes and arthritis. The younger ones look on, open mouthed, each like a gaffed salmon.

Love it.

 

[fisicx]

I was in a similar situation a few years back. I was good friends with the financial director and he suggested a good daily rate for a contractor was £450. When I was in the army a project manager was on £600/day. Some government departments are paying £1000+ per day.

I ended up charging £300/day and did nearly 3 months. That was a very lucrative contract, I didn't work again for 6 months.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

What sort of money were you on before?, I would suggest Something along the line of £400 per day Variable (only you know your rate but definitely not less) with no indication of how long you expect it to take until you have all the facts

A company purchase order sent prior to the start with a agreed payment time

Tell them you cannot guarantee success on all problems but will do your best to solve the problems ASAP

All contract, requirements etc to have a good paper trail

Maybe a good way to get some freelance work long term a couple of days a week / month

 

[RichardfromOquile]

As Chis says above "agreed payment time", a paper-trail and contracts are incredibly important.
Act as a business, rather than a person. You are not 'helping them out' or doing them 'a favour', you possess a service they require and they must pay to receive it.

Granted this is all obvious stuff but when you take the first steps out on your own it does feel incredibly 'un-nice" charging people for time.

 

[paulears]

I'd absolutely do it. Equally, if they're a big company - getting their access back matters more than the money - because you will just become one of their service providers - and join the electricians, plumbers, consultants and agencies they already use. Pick a fair amount, and just tie up the payment details. I left a job I quite liked because they powers that be and myself often had different views, so I left and am happy and doing quite well working for myself. I've been back a couple of times and oddly - nobody seems to know anything about why I left at all - so everyone I knew is all smiles, and I do the jobs and put in the invoice quoting their purchase order - because as I knew when I worked there - no purchase order, no payment!

 

[cjd]

Sure, help them out for a reasonable fee, that's what you're in business for. Just treat them as another customer and maybe you'll get more work.

I'm a bit more worried about you admission that you don't like talking about money and that you're socially awkward - you've really got to get over that somehow, you can't make a go of business if you can't talk to people and be clear about your fees. People will walk all over you. Test yourself by being professional and businesslike about this piece of work - this is one that doesn't matter.

 

[myfairworld]

If you feel you are 'socially awkward' then it is a great advantage that the request has come by email and your well thought out response can be by email too.

Emails between friends and colleagues and also customers and employees etc can of course be warm and friendly and score highly on the socially at ease scale. But in the situation you are talking about no social skills are required. It is a simple business transaction and there is no problem about emails being brief and to the point. They want you to do something specific, you are inclined to do it, but as you are no longer an employee your time has a price and that is all there is to it. So don't be 'social' be completely business like and that is the end of it.

If they agree your terms then you get a cash boost. If they don't you get to spend more time on developing your own business and if they end up in real difficulty because they don't agree your terms then that is their problem and not yours.

 

[Emu]

I went back to them and didnt name a price I just said given the history I would not be willing to do any work for free and would need to charge, then to let me know if they wanted to discuss things. I had a reply almost instantly saying that they didnt expect nor want me to spend any time on things but thought I might have a quick solution that I could have shared with them.

The funny thing is the corporate drones who work there will not even realise that this was an unreasonable request and I think they will be genuinely surprised that someone would not help them. Definitely time to forget about them, a very well know UK brand which advertises on TV is currently without analytics data but they are so clueless that they dont even understand the significance of this!

 

[MAWuk]

wanting something for nothing are they, stick to your guns, they are playing it down hoping that you'll hand them the answers for free. I see them coming back to you asking for a cost soon, an instant response screams need. I'll say it again just in case you do work for them on this, get your money upfront.

 

[Page]

Agree with MAWuk

If they are not bothered then fine
If they are bothered you have them by the short and curlies - and it sounds as if they deserve to be

You owe them nothing
Take them for what you can - ie what it is worth to them

Never hurry to reply to emails - let them wait