The IT consultant who "runs away". Was he a scam man?

"U want police to see u today? Dr Sing" I messaged the IT consultant at 1.15 pm on this sunny day, Tuesday Jun 2, 2009. For at least 3 weeks, my receptionist and I phoned him using my two office phones and my mobile phones. He would not answer the phone. As if he was a scam man who had got what he wanted and acted like one who now ignore the phone calls of an unrequited lover.

Well, he had collected money from me to buy the hardware and accounting software. He had said that he would train my staff every day till they learnt how to use the software.

Mr Yip, a printer was in my office to let me know the quotations of a magazine. I told him my problem of the IT consultant.

"He had run away and would not answer my phone calls for the last few weeks," I sought Mr Yip's advice as I sometimes do on personnel and office matters. Mr Yip is a quite a helpful person. A a successful printer, he thrived while many of his peers had closed shop. They became his non-paying "salesmen", outsourcing their work to him and he gave them their commission for the referral.

"Why don't you go to his office? Where is it?" Mr Yip asked.

"In International Plaza. It is a serviced office," I said. "So, probably he would not be there."

"You should not do business with an IT consultant who has a serviced office", Mr Yip gave this excellent advice. "You should pay for good quality IT consultants who will do a good job." If I could afford it, I would. My philosophy is also to help those small firms by giving them my small business and this IT consultant had faxed me (mass fax) one day and I contacted him. As for the high quality IT consultants, they had their hands full and would not be interested in my custom. Nor could I afford them.

"Well," I said, "I had seen his testimonials of small companies whom he had executed computerisation done work for after getting the grants for them from Spring Singapore. He had proposed to get a grant for me from Spring Singapore. We were in the middle of the work. However, he just would not return my phone calls."

This is an incredible story. Why would a self-employed IT consultant not return phone calls when his business growth depends on good services and referrals? Had he gone bankrupt? Or had he disappeared like the rogue lawyers of Singapore? Was he conducting a scam? Just for a few hundred dollars from me? And several others?

"You can go to Spring Singapore to lodge a complaint against him," Mr Yip suggested.

"Yes, I can do that." I said. But how do I resolve my problem? This IT consultant had not handed me the CD of the software. The trial of this software would end in 12 days' time.

"Please use your phone to contact him," I asked Mr Yip who is an excellent salesman as well. He dialed. The IT consultant answered the phone promptly. So, he was not dead and was still in business. Mr Yip handed his phone for me to answer. As I did not want to implicate Mr Yip in this incredible story, I declined. Mr Yip asked the IT consultant to meet at the consultant's office to buy computers. The consultant replied that he would call back. I thanked Mr Yip for his help and went out for lunch.

So, this IT consultant was alive and kicking. Why the odd behaviour of not returning my phone calls? To find out what is the problem? To resolve the problem in an amicable manner. Obviously there must be some problems. It was the problem of training my staff to use the computer and he had no time for them.

Now, he was not your average young man. Impulsive and hot-tempered. He was in his forties. A soft-spoken man and we had never exchanged angry words. He came for two days to train my staff on how to use the MYOB accounting software. However, my staff could not use it. So, he abandoned the Titanic. After all, I had paid for the necessary new computers and software.

Is this the right thing to do? "No business man is totally honest and upfront," Juliet, a senior manager in a statutory board said when I told her my problem. "You are not proactive. So, this thing happens." In other words, I had inertia. I should have a set of procedures to handle him but then I was not into project management like Juliet who had backing of support staff in the tender for computerisation.

Over 15 minutes during lunch-time I dial the IT consultant. I dialed and re-dialed. He just would not answer my phone. If he was busy, he could have returned calls during the past week. Or text-messaged me that he would be coming to my office. That was what he did last time although once he failed to turn up. This was an odd behaviour from a fully grown up man. So was he a scam man?

Yet his phone number was still active. I could go to a public phone and call him and he would have no choice but to answer. So, why should he behave like a fugitive?

At 1.15pm, I thought of the solution. To text-message him.

"U want police to see u today? Dr Sing" . No response for 5 minutes. In 20 minutes, I would walk to the Toa Payoh Police Station and lodge a report for cheating. The IT man had not handed over the CDs and I could not use the MYOB software in 12 days' time.

15 minutes after my SMS, the IT consultant texted that he would be coming to see me. Within 30 minutes, he was at my office.

It is just so sad that I needed to drop the name of "police" to get him to provide service. "I had been busy," he explained and said that he would be in my surgery every day till my staff is trained to use the software. I had my doubts. He said he had left the CDs in my office. But we could not find them. "There was no proper handing over," I said to the IT consultant. This is just a sad but incredible story that is not over.