consulting company i work for overcharges up the ass

[d1gbick]

this conversation going nowhere

[Splmash]

Originally Posted by d1gbick

somebody help me!

I work for a consulting company (1000 people) placed at one of their clients. I do great work. Client is happy with that. But my company overcharges up the asshole and its sickening to see.

the client has hinted at hiring me directly and I am on the fence (non compete agreement etc with my current company)

to give you an example, they are paying about 200k per year for all services offered (Me and 1 other junior noob placed there). Absolutely disgusting. If they were to hire me I would jump if they were to match my pay (90k) and i can 100% guarantee they would get the same level of service. I think I could either work there myself or even hire another junior guy for 40k and they would save 70k right off the bat. I have been at this client for 2 years

Of course if I did work for them directly I would basically turn my back on my current company. But this is just sickening to see them charge so much.

So what do you think I should do

What are your career outlooks at each job? Advancement possibilities?

[d1gbick]

if i work for them directly - no advancement. I would be the sole person in the department. The company is only 100 people and they wont grow that big. But its ok because I consult for other companies too so I get advancement that way

company I work for now - lots of advancement, but I wanna puke when thinking about the way they do business. Find clients, meet them in suites, promise them the world, brainwash, charge 200k per year...... well thats just one example but you get the picture

[supremematt85]

You sound naive.
Posted via RS Mobile

[d1gbick]

Originally Posted by supremematt85

You sound naive.
Posted via RS Mobile

naive? why do you think that?

[lowside67]

This thread, much like your username, is somewhere on the spectrum between "retarded" and "troll"... if you truly can't see the issues with taking a job with no potential for advancement when you have a non-compete preventing it, I can't help you.

[bcedhk]

you consult. if you are to consult on your own and screw something up, prepared to get YOUR ass charged up the ass with lawyer fees.

[d1gbick]

no potential for advancement does not matter to me as I have a number of other companies I consult for.

Yes I am fully aware of the implications of being sued for messing up. I have been doing this for a number of years now.

What I was hoping to get at was is it right to stay at my company which continues to overcharge or turn my back on them.

and I think my username has no relevance to this discussion

[Recon604]

Damn your company should fire you. Why do you even care if your company "overcharges" their clients? You are the worker, do your job. IF you dont like how they "overcharge" their clients, I suggest you leave. You are suppose to help your company make lots of $$. If you dont want them to make $$, just leave. If I was your employer and found out about what you said, I would fire you even if you do a great job. This is business. Plus do you even know their expenses to even say they overcharge their services?

[jackmeister]

if you can, buy some shares in your own company.

You'll find out in no time that you guys have be UNDERCHARGING your customer.

[GGnoRE]

Which consulting firm do you work for?

[Speed2K]

If you like your clients so much, apply for a job with them. End of story.

[nabs]

wow.. just wow. There are so many things wrong with this, I can't even begin to start.

And if your company truly is a large company (1000+ employees), good luck getting out of non compete clause.

What will happen,

1) you will quit your job (no ei, no benefits, 2 week notice)
2) your "client" will end their dealings with your company
3) your company will dig into why this happens (they do this)
4) company will find out that you are the cause of them losing a 200k/yr client and now work for/with them
5) company will sue you (personally because now you are not insured) for their lost income, not just what they make minus what they get from the client. They will sue you for the entire 200k a year, PLUS penalties and anything else they can think of. PLUS future lost revenues.
6) your name is now garbage as now you have no more contacts in the business, no references.
7) ...
8) bankruptcy or something like that.

I'm not even in the same business as you and I know what a non compete is, and how serious large companies are when it comes to this.

After all this I don't even believe you're a consultant, because you can't even see the implications of your possible decision.

And that is just one part of whats wrong with it, I'm not even going to get into your morals.

[vafanculo]

Hold on. You'd jump ship only if they match your pay? That's it? You'd do this to only save them money? Are you Robinhood ?

If you are going to save them $70k..you should at least have them pay you more than your matched pay..
Posted via RS Mobile

[d1gbick]

some great input, thank u all

I work for a north american management consulting firm based out of the us

[Hehe]

I'm not sure why it even bothers you.

But should you really choose to do so, a non-competing agreement or often non-soliciting agreement are very hard to enforce in Canada unless you are an executive. Less so on non-soliciting... but still.

A few cases were brought up by few clients I worked before with their employees... and I think all except one (guy was an VP) got thrown out of court as they are either deemed excessive or involuntarily.

[ZN6]

Originally Posted by d1gbick

I work for a consulting company (1000 people) placed at one of their clients. I do great work. Client is happy with that. But my company overcharges up the asshole and its sickening to see.

You taking your company's business away for yourself with insider information is no different than stealing; which is why that non-compete clause exists.

Sickening to you but the client that you serve is happy with your work and the company that consults for it so what's the problem? If they are willing to foot the bill and the client is above water, then that's their prerogative to decide how they wish to see value, not yours.

The cost of your company having to train your ass, to pay your ass, to pay the leasing fees for your work space, for your computer which you work on, for the telephone you speak through, the services that you use, need to be paid for, to pay E & O insurance, to pay for your WCB insurance, most likely your MSP, to pay for your potential continued education to serve the client better, to have updated client services and call centers are just some of the costs that I can think of off the top of my head of conducting every day business. That's not to mention the firm's accountability to stakeholders.

After all the company at the end of the day still needs to make money to grow which is logically how any business mindset is. It cannot do so if it's just breaking even.

I highly doubt you can provide the same level of service and security that your large firm can without bearing a huge cost yourself or passing off the burden of cost to the client for hiring you. I doubt there is any added value to them saving a few bucks in the short run and then running into a very likely case of potential problems down the road without something to fall back on.

If you can't see the legal ramifications or the breach of business ethics in the way you think, you, sir are overpaid. I would not dare speak this to anyone arm's length or closer to the company about your views on how your firm conducts business. I guarantee the word will spread; I can say that with 100% certainty.

Do you also have moral issues with people buying a Big Mac from McDonalds for a hugely inflated price in comparison to the cost to putting one together?

[DaFonz]

Are you fucking stupid? No seriously..how can you be a management co sultant and not realize the overhead associated with your job? Company is like yours exist to make a PROFIT.

1000 person company means there's IT, overhead and management to carry. There's also expenses associated with office space, job expenses (e.g. travel) which may or may not be expensed to the client. I'm going to guess that your company also provides you with a laptop, software and phone. Oh don't forget benefits and the costs of carrying your salary.

Let's say you and a junior make up $130k in salary total. Let's call overhead 20%.. Now you're up to 156k. 25% profit isn't reasonable? What should they charge?

Finally, what kind of shitty management consultant only hops to the client if they match your pay? If you were smart, you'd hop to the client with a bump in your pay that's less than what your current firm charges.

Oh and your new employer if you hop... Is likely going to get sued because that kinda shit is built into contracts.

I feel bad for your client because you clearly know nothing about running a business.
Posted via RS Mobile

[Wetordry]

^ slow clap. 100% agree.
Posted via RS Mobile

[subordinate]

Just want to say,

This happens in accounting, where smaller boutique accounting firms are contracted by relatively small sized companies/non-profits to prepare their financials/look over the book keeping.

I knew an individual that worked for one of the accounting firm that looked over this company, and eventually got hired at that company.

Not sure on the arrangement, but if the Head boss and consulting firm came to a mutual agreement, I could see it work? Heck, the company could cancel the contract (if there is a contract), and offer a position to the consultant.

But for D1gbick, I'd read your contract closely as others have suggested. There may be a non-compete disclosure and if you jump ship. They definitely can sue you big time. Heck, their might be clauses that state you can't work for any company you consulted for, for the next "amount of years", after you leave the firm.

If there's nothing in the contract that states you can jump ship without any legal implications, then do what's best for you.

BTW, I love the responses in here that criticize the OP for even thinking about such a thing. Do companies care about you if they run into problems? When they need to maximize profits for the shareholders, companies will drop you so fast. Toss you your severance and say bye. Again, it's really circumstances for D1gbick. Too many unanswered questions for us to give a legit answer. Even then, he has his own deciding factors.

[white rocket]