Cheesy Karma
by Charles Robinson
in Feature Articles
on 2014-03-24
Chester was living it up. He worked for an in-demand contracting company, programming PLC controllers in an ancient language called “APT”. Very few organizations were experienced in APT, and Chester’s employer was often contracted to be a “firefighter”, when projects were ablaze and people were prepared to jump out of the windows to escape the heat.
Chester and his companion, Colby, were booked to work for the California Cheese Co.. The CCC was a notorious client. By paying late (or not at all), by inserting vague clauses into contracts, and by generally being complete jerks, they ensured the bankruptcy of their contractors- and bankrupt firms can’t afford to sue you for late payment. They would get millions of dollars worth of work done for hundreds of thousands. Chester’s firm was more cautious, more experienced, and more litigious than many of the CCC’s victims. They’d be receiving 100% of their payments, and not end up bankrupt.
Upset that they’d actually have to pay Chester and company, the CCC resentfully made the work experience as miserable as possible. They stuck Chester and Colby in a run-down trailer that smelled like curdled milk. It was a quarter mile from the main office, and the phones only worked when the temperature was between 67º and 67.85º, on a Tuesday, and even then only when you didn’t actually use them. This meant that even the most minor question involved a long trudge through a hot, southern California summer. By the time Chester got back to the trailer, he smelled like a brick of Limburger that had baked in the sun all day.
Forums
Feb 14
Their goals are opposite, their people are opposite, their tactics are opposite. Even their credos - developers "Make a good product" but sales will "Do anything to get that money" - are at complete odds.