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Paul,
I know quite a few people who have been burned by computer consultants, there are numerous charlatans amongst the computer trade. trying to make a fast buck.
You might want to approach your future services purchases differently:
contingency, paid only if an objective is achieved.
progress payments, if x is achieved I pay 10% of the fee, once Z is done I pay another 10% , likewise this ensures you only pay if they make progress.
Outline your maximum fee, and state the amount of hours you are paying for, I just heard from a person we did business with, a company came out to see why the backup tape only went to 75% before completion, two consultants stayed on site, watching the tape do the backup for five hours, billed for 10 man hours to "watch" the backup? personally I wouldn't pay that bill.
If you outline your maximum fee/hours in advance there is no "pumping" the bill with more hours/excessive hours.
and finally all of the above, in writing, and agreed upon by both parties.
good luck!
btw. Jason the routing admin @ He.net freemont location is quite knowledgeable you might ask him about helping you streamline your apache configs etc.
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