Re: Switching Job Query--what about files?

[George Mena <George -dot- Mena -at- ESSTECH -dot- COM>]

This sounds like someone who's really unethical and immature, which is
absolutely inexcusable conduct for *any* contractor -- and for exactly
the reason Mike's going to make sure this guy isn't going to work at any
company *he's* at.  The source files *have* to stay, no matter how much
of a jerk the client is.  Never ask the client to try and distill *.ps
files, especially if the client *doesn't* have Acrobat.  That's the
client's call always, always, always!!!

When incidents like this happens, everyone loses.  The big losers: the
contractor (no matter how justified he may feel he is in sticking it to
the client) and *especially* the job shop or consulting firm that helped
place him there.  If the contractor is p.o.'d with the client, fine:
that's what happy hours in the bars and pubs are for.  But get a shop in
hot water and watch it spread the word to the competing shops!

Be mature.  Don't blow the career, especially this way!  It's too easy
to destroy something that took a long time to build, and that especially
means your career as a tech writer. :D

George

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Huber, Mike [SMTP:mrhuber -at- SOFTWARE -dot- ROCKWELL -dot- COM]
> Sent: Thursday, July 09, 1998 2:19 PM
> To:   TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
> Subject:      Re: Switching Job Query--what about files?
>
> Had that happen to me recently.
> Ex contractor left only postscript versions of a manual. Left lots of
> copies
> with slightly different file dates, and lots of zip files containing
> postscript dumps, but no source files.
>
> I called him, asked if they were on one of the file servers or
> something. He
> suggested I rename the .PS files to .DOC. As I suspected, that didn't
> work.
> He will never work for any company where my opinion counts.
>
> ---
>