outsourcing to china

[findtim]

does anyone else use elance/freelance/odesk etc and use chinese programmers?

i'm doing a lot of work through elance with china but recently ( last 2 months ) everything is stuffing up !

they can't access my servers, they can't view screencast.com, they can't download plugins i have purchased for projects and the list goes on, its soooooooooo slow by the time i tell them what i want and then its another day before they get back to me to say "no i can't do that" then another day before i say " how do we fix it" etcccccccccc

PLEASE don't reply "use australians" as that gig is DEAD across the world.

what i am asking for is some insights into good techniques, TIPS and TRICKS, on getting my info to china and back out to my aussie websites.

thanks

tim

 

[Cooper Mills DomainLawyer]

some of the issues may be explained by 'the Great Wall' internet filter (which blocks access to heaps of sites including facebook and twitter), I recently experienced it first hand in China. Even the free wifi at the airport requires you to produce your passport before you are issued with a password to filtered internet.

One solution may be to have your developer use a VPN, i found that it was hit and miss in China. There are a number of VPN services out there like strongvpn.com. Give them a blast

Also I have had good experiences using people in Hong Kong and Taiwan

 

[Cooper Mills DomainLawyer]

some of the issues may be explained by 'the Great Wall' internet filter (which blocks access to heaps of sites including facebook and twitter), I recently experienced it first hand in China. Even the free wifi at the airport requires you to produce your passport before you are issued with a password to filtered internet.

One solution may be to have your developer use a VPN, i found that it was hit and miss in China. There are a number of VPN services out there like strongvpn.com. Give them a blast

Also I have had good experiences using people in Hong Kong and Taiwan

 

[johno69]

PLEASE don't reply "use australians" as that gig is DEAD across the world.

many other countries without issues though. Why choose China?

 

[findtim]

i don't choose the country i chose the person, i do not even really look at the country when hiring.

tim

 

[payattention]

Pay peanuts..

 

[findtim]

Pay peanuts..

mostly i pay @ a 3rd of what i am charging which i think is good money, most commission based salespeople in australia don't get 33%

honestly 90% of the time it isn't the lowest bidder i hire, i'm trying to build a team of people that i can rely on and thats more important then price at this moment.

i also like using people that have just started on elance and have no "cred" i find they work really well as they want to feedback score.

but i do mostly use them on my projects so if it goes wobbly then i don't have to explain to a client.

tim

 

[johno69]

i do not even really look at the country when hiring.

Looks like you should then. Lesson learnt?

 

[johno69]

mostly i pay @ a 3rd of what i am charging which i think is good money, most commission based salespeople in australia don't get 33%

In your case you are the salesperson and making two thirds

 

[findtim]

yes but i bring the work in, they just get handed the work that would never have got otherwise.

bottom line is we are all salepeople, we are always selling something even down to "an opinion"

as for countries, yes but you never know, i find malaysia and india easier to deal with. Language and being understood is the hardest bit.

tim

 

[helloworld]

Just give the work to me. Specical DN trade rate of $60+gst ph down from $90+gst ph.

Outsourcing is a pain in the arse. When you add it up you're not normally ahead by much.

 

[zhenjie]

From a decade of outsourcing these are my views & experience

1) Eastern Europe (super qualified workers, less culture difference, English is generally good if you pick the good ones, they know how they think for themselves)
2) Americans or Western expats in SE countries (ie, currently one of my team is an American running his own team in Malaysia)
3) China (if I get one with reliable work environment, I've same issues you faced before due to the firewall and other restrictions)
4) Arab workers/teams are surprinsingly very professional
5) South American & Philippines for design work
N/A) Don't even consider other nationalities for technical work anymore (unless somebody really vouches for them).
INDIA = I'll Never Do It Again! , "yes sir" "no problem sir" "yes we can do sir" bs bs bs

 

[zhenjie]

Oh and yes, the reliable Chinese workers always used a reliable VPN, generally through Hong Kong or Taiwan I'm told. I will ask next time I speak with a few.

 

[payattention]

Have you encountered anyone accepting bitcoins as payment yet zhenjie?

 

[zhenjie]

Not for outsourcers in programming, design, etc. I do pay and get paid using BitCoins when it comes to some of the SEO stuff but its not common still.

 

[findtim]

this is an email i got today.

"
Hi Tim,

Thanks for the file, sorry for the delay, our city lost power today, downloading it and will check it, thanks.

Best Regards,
T******
"

its just a laugh !

tim

 

[payattention]

Not for outsourcers in programming, design, etc. I do pay and get paid using BitCoins when it comes to some of the SEO stuff but its not common still.

I wouldn't be surprised to see adoption increase as time goes on. I know Indians have had issues with Paypal in the past and more recently countries like Argentina.

..our city lost power today..

I've read this is an actual issue for some areas of China, no idea on what regions or if it's common place though.

 

[findtim]

china power: yes this has happened many times now.

i don't want to say don't deal with chinese based programmers but i think this thread just archieves eventually some of the issues at the moment.

whats happening for me is my deadlines for clients are not being accomplished, which sh^&Ts me no end.

i'm behind in 3 projects right now and i'm to far "down the road" to change.

live and learn !

tim

 

[findtim]

China goes missing

yep, now sh*t has hit the fan, 5 projects on the go and he has gone missing !

thankfully i have only paid deposits but its still $1k in total.

i'm more concerned i now have to tell the clients about the delay till i find someone else.

this won't stop me using elance as this has been the only negative in 2 years but i do think i won't be heading back to china.

tim

 

[findtim]

TODAY is what DNT is all about, tim wakes up and sh*t hits fan, so what do i do? well i don't crumble and cry but i post and then do some emails to other members and make some phone calls to members i have met by GOING to meetups.

i have circled the country today via dnt and now i am sitting here still stressed but actually have a "direction" to a solution. ( you know who you all are )

thanks everyone, i think its going to cost me a lot in beers

tim