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[Michael Czeiszperger <michael AT czeiszperger.org>]

On Jan 6, 2009, at 4:03 PM, Tanner Lovelace wrote:

> On Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 1:56 PM, Michael Czeiszperger
> <michael AT czeiszperger.org> wrote:
> > Well, the reason it came up is my company does web performance  
> > testing
> > and tuning, and there's two classes of customers, those who call
> > months ahead of a release deadline and schedule in 4-6 weeks of
> > measure/tune/measure cycles, and those who call at 5PM on Friday
> > wanting their site tested 2AM Saturday morning so they can get ready
> > for an 8AM Monday release.
>
> Let me guess.  Do you have two different pricing schedules to match
> the two classes of customers? :-)

Actually just giving the normal prices usually scares away the late  
Friday callers :-)  Not that we're expensive for this type of work,  
mind you.

> Out of curiosity, how's business these days?  Have you noticed any
> effects of the economic slowdown yet?

Last year our web performance services business tripled, even  
accelerating in the 4th quarter with a great December. We were all  
double and triple booked, working late nights and weekends to keep  
up.  We're doing bigger jobs now, too, such as for the US Congress and  
larger companies.

I started collecting resumes mid-way through 2008, with the intent on  
hiring recent CS or engineering graduates of local institutions, but I  
couldn't find anyone willing to work in this field at any price. No  
idea why, as it takes quite a bit of knowledge and experience to know  
what you're doing.

I gave up on recent grads and was finally able to hire just one  
experienced person in mid-November who just been laid off, and now he  
too is double booked for all of January.  If the economic outlook  
wasn't looking so bad I'd hire at least another person right away, but  
as it is, it feels safer to work longer hours and see what's going to  
happen.

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Michael Czeiszperger
Chapel Hill, NC

"He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life." - H. Simpson
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