agents

[The one]

H i all
Becoming a job in Germany is , as we all know not easy .
The more I find it very strange, that u have to go more and more through agents , that u never heard of before !
... if it is gonna touch me personally, ............
I and other people We have discussed this " special matter " with.. we will have to " talk about it in a dfferent forum " .(This will be more than offical )
The Agents we are workin through now , are doing a proper good job...so do not let people come up, that think they can make some extra money in the cost of our good work.

I have to say.. before I hvae to go out and hit some F....cer....lets please all help together. !!!!

[mark]

To carry on from the previous thread 'cheap labour'

Which I thought was primarily about Agents undercutting each other to get the job, still keeping the same profit margins and so driving down the rates for contractors.

What percentage should agents take from the charge rate?

Is there any way to find out the charge rate before you start a contract?

[Karl S]

Look guys the long and short of it is :

The agent offers you a rate of pay.

You negotiate a bit if you can , then if the rate is acceptable to you , you take the job.

If not you stay at home .

The charge rate or if you aren't getting the same deal as everyone else has nothing to do with it .

Or is the that ugly word coming into play .

GREED !

[Mark]

'The charge rate has nothing to do with it'

You're kidding right?

The client pays a rate and you do the work, the agent is merely a link. In many cases the contractor finds their own position and are forced to go through an agent.

People are talking as if the agent is their client and should therefore decide the rate.

What is wrong in asking the charge rate before you start a job? The only reason you will struggle to find out is because the agent doesn't want you know as you could then work out the percentage profit margin.

It is your money, you earn it. People seem to forget this and treat it as if it's the agent's money especially when it comes to getting paid on time.

'GREED' as you put it may well be applicable to many contractors, but I guarantee you that it is more prevalant within the offices of Agents.

GET REAL!

[Karl s]

Ok lets put it another way .

Find the charge rate that your agent is getting ( they will all tell you !!!)

Tell them they can have 3% cut .

Lets see if you get the contract .


Thats being real .

[Studio Manager]

OK clay guys, let me get this straight.

You want me to skip dealing with the agents and call each and every one of you individually to find out if you are available for work. Three or four hundred phone calls should do it. If you don't have the right passport you would like me to sort out any visa issues or immigration problems you might have. Perhaps I can organise your flights and accomodation? I know, I'll pay for the f..ker as well, and when you graciously accept my offer of employment I'll give you the full charge rate. God knows you deserve it. If you find a better deal you can skip the country and I'll take care of all your loose ends, like taxes you forgot to pay, court appearances, parking fines etc. No problem, you're very welcome.

Oh I forgot, I've got a million other different things I have to take care of. I guess I'll call an agent.

[not happy]

Well Studio Manager

That doesn't sound like much of a deal there's no car thrown in!!!!!!!

[Jobber]

Studio Manager,
Ohhhh Bless!!!!!!!!
Sounds like someone is all bitter & twisted with overseas labour, hope they don't make more than you!!!!!

[The other one]

Hey Manager

Please make shure, no one finds out obout wh ;Dy there is some new agents started up ! What is the reason ??

Is there extra money in the game ??

If so ...............hohoho ! game over......... ;D

[the great]

Hi Guys

Why cant I just go out and work without having anyone else making money on what I am doing ?
Simple question !! Innit ??

[Ralf G]

Hi All

I found the " cheap labour " much better....but please carry on. We might get more than 3000 visitors into this .!!
Happy Fasching to everyone !!!

[dave Jaques]

Hello Studio Manager

I beleive yours is the first reply from the management we have had on these postings.

I completely sympathise with your situation. However, unless your working for a very, very small studio, most companies have Human Resource departments that can deal with the recruitment side, and as for cleaning up after contractors, Agents do not do it, so why will you.

Would not the concept of an Association appeal to you?Maybe they would only have members known to have a professional outlook in contracting, i.e not just in the studio but in all aspects of representing a profession.

Agents earn a lot of money off our backs and although there was a reason for them 10 years ago the reasons are not there now.

[Corrcect me if I am wrong]

In answer to the studio manager, you have obviously have had some bad experiences with modellers. Unfortunately why is it that managers always seem to remember the bad ones and not the good ones!!! You will always get people that will abuse the system because that is just their nature. They probably do not realise that they are constantly burning bridges wherever they go and then complain when they cannot get work!! There are a hell of a lot of professional modellers out there that will give you a 100 % and be very reliable but you must look to the agent when they put their name in to you and ask the question "am I getting a good man?" This is where word of mouth comes in. You will always get the question asked "does anybody know this guy?" It has happened everywhere I have worked. It is just how it works in our profession. Call it right or wrong it is how it happens. Could you imagine if we were all the same how boring studio life would be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Correction]

"am I getting a good man?" This is where word of mouth comes in. You will always get the question asked "does anybody know this guy?"

Translation :
" Who's this tosser "
" Never heard of the **nt "
" Does he know the secret handshake ? "


Yeah Yeah Yeah

[Correct me if I am wrong]

Dear Mr Correction,

Wolud you prefer to work within a good team of guys or have to deal with the occasional bad apple who thinks of only one person ie "himself" This profession we work in has always been like this and nothing you or I could do will change it. I have been on contracts where the bad apple has abused the situation and have had to follow on behind him to work in an awkward situation. Only having good guys then repairs the damage. I dont disagree there are studios that can be a hard nut to crack but my advice to you is to persevere

Yours

Correct me if I am wrong!