Outsourcing Disaster!

15 replies
One of my main projects involves importing novelty products from China to resell in North America. I won't get into the details of what it is... but that's really not important. It's for summer festivals, and it sells really well during racing weeks.

What IS important is that the deadline for submitting the product label was last night at 8pm EST. (Since they are 12 hours ahead, that's 8am for them)

We have been working on the product label for 2 weeks now...going through dozens of revisions to make it PERFECT. As you know, people don't buy the product... they buy the label.

A good label can make or break a product.

Anyhow, last night at 8pm was the absolute last deadline to submit the label. Any later, and I would miss the boat (quite literally). I use a shipping container to import it and if I didn't have the label done in time, that container would leave without me.

Missing the boat would cost me $12000... at least!

8am: The MORNING of my product deadline, my designer decides to not log in (he works remotely) Whatever, he's probably late... he usually is.

9am: Still no sign of him, wtf? I email, call his house across the world (no reply), where is he?!

10am: I call his parents, they don't know where he is.

10:05am: He calls me. FINALLY. Tells me not to bother his parents and that he quits. Says that I screwed him over for years because of the rate he's getting. He quit on purpose today screw me over for the deadline. Wtf?!

Ok, no problem, I'll just use the last revision on the FTP... WAIT A SECOND, THE ****ER DELETED ALL THE FILES ON THE FTP.

10:30am: Panic. All the latest revisions of the label were on the FTP and since we were changing the labels so often, I don't have a backup!

1:00pm: Call up a friend that has a designer, tell him my emergency... he says I can use his designer for the day.

From here, I'm talking to the designer and trying to explain to him how the label was (frig, it took 2 weeks to make). He says he'll "do his best" but doing an entire label took more than a few hours.

I desperately try to look for old files of the label... but everything I can find locally is super old. The only new revisions were on the FTP... and they are all gone!

**Moment of epiphany**

At this point, I'm sweating, freaking out... and that's when I remembered... holy ****, I HAVE ALL HIS WORK RECORDED.

So I log into Hyperhour, which I use to track time and monitor all the work that my employees do... and behold, I have all the latest screenshots of his work.

When my employees work, Hyperhour takes random screenshots (with their consent of course) and stores them so I know where everyone is at on a project.

Now, it's saving my ass because I have screenshots of the final label that my designer deleted.

2:00pm: I send the screenshot to the temp designer and say: "This is it! Now I need it done in illustrator!"

6:30pm: I'm still in a panic... hoping that designer can pull through when I get an email a message saying he's uploading the file to his FTP.

Relief! The file is perfect... he made a perfect replica of the jpg I sent him.

7:00pm: I send the file to my rep in China, 1 hour before they start printing. Everything is going to be alright.

What a day...

Hyperhour's like having security footage of everything that's happening with your employees. I don't always check it every day (even though I should), but when I do, I'm so glad it's there.

I should be getting the products right before the summer festivals begin... I'm excited!
#disaster #outsourcing
  • WOW!! Sounds like a stressful day! Glad you were able to get it all sorted out on time though!

    Thank (whatever god or entity you believe in) you had hyperhour running! I bet you won't be going back to your original designer though!! what an A** for doing that to you! If he wasn't happy with the rate he should have said something to you where you could have come to an agreement not just deliberately try and ruin your business! People like them should not be in business at all!!
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    • Profile picture of the author Tracy411
      Hi,

      I agree with Simon. That was a dirty thing for him to do. I am all for open, honest communication. Anything less does not serve anyone's purpose, at least not in the long run. He definitely should have said something and maybe it would have worked out better for both of you. I definitely would not use him again.

      I am glad everything worked out for you with the label in the end though. I also hope you get lots of sales for the season.
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonthewebmaster
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    Awesome! That hyperhour sounds pretty cool, might have to check into that myself..
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  • Profile picture of the author Karen Barr
    Depending on the terms of the contract agreement you had with him, I would consider getting a solicitor's letter sent to him demanding compensation for your extra outlay on a new designer, because he failed to fulfill his contract.

    It might cost a couple hundred quid and I'm sure he'd never pay you, but it might make him think twice before trying to eff someone else over the same way.
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  • Profile picture of the author shahriyar
    Woah, I was totally into it when I was reading through your story. You write pretty well buddy, you made me panic lol!

    Yes, outsourcing can be risky if you are not working with a decent guy. That's why I always outsource stuff beforehand or do it myself (if it is within my expertise). I am glad you pulled it off in the end. Cheers!
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  • Profile picture of the author DancingHamster
    Wow, I'd be fuming mad if that happened to me. Good thing you had that software, and that you actually realized you had it!! Lol, good story!
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    • Profile picture of the author AUKev
      Glad it worked out in the end.

      Not sure where your FTP files are stored, but many providers allow you to see a history.

      I had a client on GoDaddy that was using 180GB of space on their sharted hosting. GD did not like that even though it was an unlimited space site (fine print says has to be used on pages, cannot be a file repository). The client was warned by GD and myself that they were in violation of their TOS. After several weeks of non-compliance, GD whacked the FTP folder.

      Thankfully, GD allows you to look back at individual folders over the past 30 days. I was able to restore each folder individually long enough for the customer to back up the files (of course I got paid for this).

      Long story short, is depending on you FTP server, there may be archived backups available...for future reference.
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  • Profile picture of the author flyinghammers
    You should send your story to HyperHour. I'm sure they would love it and probably use it for marketing.
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  • Profile picture of the author mnoonan
    I am so glad that it worked out! It's a shame that it all happened that way since you obviously had a long working relationship with him.

    TG for HyperHour! As a result of this I bet you'll have a more solid "save file" plan! I know it's easy to get laid back- I've been there/done that/paid the price!

    Good thing you had connections!
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  • Profile picture of the author Boston Joe
    I'm glad that it worked out for you. It's a shame that there are people who are willing to screw you over like that out of spite.
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  • Profile picture of the author MagicMarket
    We use a custom product similar to Hyperhour and i exactly know what you mean
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    • Profile picture of the author Eric Lancheres
      Yeah, I always had a FEELING that the guy was a little iffy... but it's hard to tell when you're outsourcing across the world. So when he left, I can't say I didn't see it coming.

      However, I never thought he'd leave just like that.

      I suppose this will teach me to trust my gut a little bit more!

      Regardless, I worked out a deal with my friend's designer and I think we're going to share him for our projects. It should be cheaper for both of us!
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  • Profile picture of the author shaynjordan
    I am so sorry that happen, but I think the quick thinking helped you get through. And what an a** that guy was, especially if he knew today was the deadline.
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  • Profile picture of the author vanalli
    I feel exhausted just reading that story.
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