"Can you just...."
Discussion
I imagine many of us get it, whether its at home or work. I guess the proper name is Scope Creep, or trivialisation, but I find I'm increasingly irritated by being asked for what the requester thinks is a trivial task, or add-on to an existing task, but which is almost always a whole new task in its own right.
For example - at my part-time job at an Italian car specialist - customer brings in the car for a basic service. "Can you just do the clutch too?...."
At home - we're having a new bathroom and Wifey is painting the window frame. The style of frosted glass is a bit dated, so I'm asked "Can you just swap the glass over? Its only held in with putty." Or maybe the one about the bedroom curtain pole - "Can you just make it another 6 inches from the wall?"
From a user of a huge Excel spreadsheet I've developed (12MB of workbook across 40+ worksheets and a couple of hundred thousand lines of VBA to make it all work) - "Can you just change the font for me only? - everyone else likes the existing font".
Rant over - does anyone else get wholly unreasonable requests from people that don't really have a clue what they are asking for?
For example - at my part-time job at an Italian car specialist - customer brings in the car for a basic service. "Can you just do the clutch too?...."
At home - we're having a new bathroom and Wifey is painting the window frame. The style of frosted glass is a bit dated, so I'm asked "Can you just swap the glass over? Its only held in with putty." Or maybe the one about the bedroom curtain pole - "Can you just make it another 6 inches from the wall?"
From a user of a huge Excel spreadsheet I've developed (12MB of workbook across 40+ worksheets and a couple of hundred thousand lines of VBA to make it all work) - "Can you just change the font for me only? - everyone else likes the existing font".
Rant over - does anyone else get wholly unreasonable requests from people that don't really have a clue what they are asking for?
This is just life isn't it? I'd imagine the vast majority of us have to deal with this kind of thing on a daily basis, that's why you get paid to do what you do, as if the person asking knew how to do it themselves or what was involved, then they wouldn't be paying you to do it.
Idiots are everywhere, it is very frustrating I agree.
Idiots are everywhere, it is very frustrating I agree.
Can you just makes these reports automated in Excel whilst the Qliksense team builds them properly...that was 12 months ago, and I'm still running them (with regular feature requests).
I offered to do them quickly (less than a week) in Excel over a year ago ago, but they decided a 12 month (14 months so far) £2m project to get them into QS was they more appropriate, long-term solution.
Pity it seems to take them 3 days to get live data from the database into the actual reports, and I still have to do extra reports in Excel as no-one other than the develops can create custom reports in QS (yet).
The other one is when they tell me that they don't need my support for a quarterly review, and they'll be running everything 'live' from their new system...only to be told an hour before that the data is not up to date and "could I just...knock up these few reports". Of course I can, but it's at least 4 hours of report creation as they have never been used before.
I offered to do them quickly (less than a week) in Excel over a year ago ago, but they decided a 12 month (14 months so far) £2m project to get them into QS was they more appropriate, long-term solution.
Pity it seems to take them 3 days to get live data from the database into the actual reports, and I still have to do extra reports in Excel as no-one other than the develops can create custom reports in QS (yet).
The other one is when they tell me that they don't need my support for a quarterly review, and they'll be running everything 'live' from their new system...only to be told an hour before that the data is not up to date and "could I just...knock up these few reports". Of course I can, but it's at least 4 hours of report creation as they have never been used before.
Edited by mmm-five on Monday 29th April 16:30
bigandclever said:
Not really unreasonable requests, since the client is paying, but I get quite a lot of "it's a trivial change" and depending on my time of the month the reply is occasionally "you do it then, crack on".
Oh we get this all the time/ Can we have a quote for X. Sure it will be 7--8 days. Client thinks that is a bit steep, their IT reckon they can do it in 3 (despite knowing f
k all about it).My response is usually. " Well let them f
king do it then."Control : ''Can you just nip these speed restricted ballast wagons from Crewe to Willesden then bring the loco back as well, you're the only driver we've got left with enough hours...?''
Me (at Rugby Depot, half way between the two) : ''not within my legally allowed hours no, I've been on duty for four hours already waiting for Network Rail to decide if the job's running or not, I've got a maximum of eight hours left, it'll take me at least two hours to get to Crewe on the stopper which goes via Stoke, at least four or five hours to get down to Willesden at reduced speed if I get a clear run all the way which is highly doubtful in the evening rush hour, at least an hour or more to shunt the wagons, at least another three hours to get the loco back to Crewe if network Rail give me a path, then another two hours to get back to my home depot if I manage to catch the last train via Stoke''.
Control : ''hold on..... mumble…… mumble...… mumble...…. stand down, job's cancelled''
Me (at Rugby Depot, half way between the two) : ''not within my legally allowed hours no, I've been on duty for four hours already waiting for Network Rail to decide if the job's running or not, I've got a maximum of eight hours left, it'll take me at least two hours to get to Crewe on the stopper which goes via Stoke, at least four or five hours to get down to Willesden at reduced speed if I get a clear run all the way which is highly doubtful in the evening rush hour, at least an hour or more to shunt the wagons, at least another three hours to get the loco back to Crewe if network Rail give me a path, then another two hours to get back to my home depot if I manage to catch the last train via Stoke''.
Control : ''hold on..... mumble…… mumble...… mumble...…. stand down, job's cancelled''
Scabutz said:
All day every day. People outside of IT dev have no understanding of what it actually takes to dev. Can you just do x. Sure but it will take 5 days. What its just doing this.
Ah yes, but anyone who has developed any type of program/app/etc knows the reverse is true too.Sorry boss, need another 6 months on this project
I tell you, running a garage is not much better.
My car is in Reading, (I'm in South Wales), and it's making a screeching noise - can you fix it for me really cheaply please, and then take it for an MOT - literally just had this conversation on the basis I changed the auxiliary belt 2 years ago.
Can you just take a quick look at the electric windows if you have time please.
Can't you just drill the glow plug out?
The trailer board you supplied 2 years ago isn't working, any chance of popping out mid Saturday morning to sort it out, as my wife wants to take the horse somewhere.
No idea what you're talking about OP.
My car is in Reading, (I'm in South Wales), and it's making a screeching noise - can you fix it for me really cheaply please, and then take it for an MOT - literally just had this conversation on the basis I changed the auxiliary belt 2 years ago.
Can you just take a quick look at the electric windows if you have time please.
Can't you just drill the glow plug out?
The trailer board you supplied 2 years ago isn't working, any chance of popping out mid Saturday morning to sort it out, as my wife wants to take the horse somewhere.
No idea what you're talking about OP.
In my last job the CEO was well known for his "can we just". Things like,
I know that you are in the middle of submitting the budget to Group as it is the deadline today and I have had the last 6 weeks to review and have also got the Board to sign off on it, but can we just make a couple of "small" changes.
Or
I know it is the middle of month end and you are working all hours to get the figures ready but can you just....
It got to the point that it was an in joke. I know you are in the middle of doing something important but can you just repaint the Forth Bridge or I know that the system won't support this, but can you just give me a detailed spend analysis by supplier invoice for the last 10 years.
I know that you are in the middle of submitting the budget to Group as it is the deadline today and I have had the last 6 weeks to review and have also got the Board to sign off on it, but can we just make a couple of "small" changes.
Or
I know it is the middle of month end and you are working all hours to get the figures ready but can you just....
It got to the point that it was an in joke. I know you are in the middle of doing something important but can you just repaint the Forth Bridge or I know that the system won't support this, but can you just give me a detailed spend analysis by supplier invoice for the last 10 years.
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