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Do you know where your outsourced web design work is ending up - most of the times not with your original vendor

I received this mail today - without any context, introduction or how do you do.

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Subject: Lets start work?.

Hello,

We want to give you projects that we get

We will keep updating to those who replies to this email

This is applicable only regarding IT Work

Please share your Three Major Skills with me [Skills should be selected from following List or Add your own if not from following List]

{Web Development, Web Design, Software Development, SEO, Logo Design, Business Development, Data Entry}

WE ALREADY HAVE 1 FLASH AND 1 SEO PROJECT IN HAND AND LOOKING FOR PARTNERS TO HELP ON THE PROJECTS

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Outsourcing is a dog eat dog world. Sketch by Bhakti Chande.

I must  say that I have absolutely no idea who these guys are and what kind of clients they have. I have to wonder whether the clients know that their work is being farmed out to unknown agencies. I have seen cases of outsourced work being outsourced being outsourced - three times over.

Everything cannot be done in-house but critical and core work should  not  be outsourced by the outsourced.

Clients hand out work under the assumption that design companies know what they are doing and have the capabilities to execute them. Of Course all work cannot be done in-house, that?s not reasonable, but farming out the entire work to a third party is not right. What happens is that most so called web design cos are just middle men with fancy (and not so fancy) websites. The damage for the client is when the work is sub-standard or in some cases is ?lost in translation?.

Clients permission is necessary for transparency - otherwise it is a type of fraud.

If you take up work that you know you cannot handle than that is a form of fraud  or breach of trust. For us transparency and honesty is paramount in all our dealings. We simply cannot function otherwise although I know many vendors who are not bothered by such quaint concepts.

Of course such firms can argue that as long as we deliver, what does it matter where the work is done?

It matters. Suppose you go to a fancy restaurant and instead are served food prepared at the nearby  roadside stall? We all want to be served by people who know what they are doing and are good at it. We do not like being conned into a mediocre product or service. Clients have the right to demand and receive the best service possible from the vendor they have out sourced to.

Clients are partially to blame. If a deal is too good to be true, it probably is.

Bargain hunters of load work to the  lowest bidder. Some can hardly believe what a good deal they are getting until a few weeks down the line they get to see the first cut. Then begins a rancorous process of accusations, counter accusations and lots of heart burn. Just to save a few bucks. Is it worth it? For some, maybe.

Clients need to be vigilant, pay the proper rates, set proper terms and conditions, do spot checks and overall make sure that the vendor they have contracted for the work is the one actually doing it.

Cheers,
Ron