It’s called…consulting.
Well, clearly it depends as to why it’s backed up. I suppose some can give you an estimated range depending on what the problem is, but, typically, I expect to pay a professional for his or her time if they make a house call to diagnose my problem, whether they do the work or not. Typically, they will say up front there is a fee for them to visit, and that fee goes towards the work they do if you hire them.
I’m still curious to hear a real-world example or two of what the OP is referring to. It is possible they are getting scammed; or it’s possible that there’s nothing underhanded going on, depending on what is meant by the professional telling them everything they already know.
Depending on the situation, it can be called “confirmation” and be completely legit. For example, let’s say I think I know how to handle a certain part of my taxes, but I’m not 100% sure. I call a tax expert, explain the situation (I don’t tell him what I think the solution is) and the solution he gives me is exactly what I thought. Callooh, callay, oh frabjous day! I had actually read the tax code correctly! But hey, having confirmation is good… specially since the experts I call are my local Treasury’s own Tax Assistance Service 
If one of their coworkers disagrees with their written, official opinion I can whip it out and tell them to argue with each other.
Going with the plumbing analogy for a bit, suppose the problem is “We’ve got leaking pipes all over the place.” That leads to two immediate questions: 1) Have you written down where all the leaks are? and if the answer is yes, 2) Are the executives that hired the plumbing consultant aware the leaks have been documented? If the answer to question 1) is no, then of course the next question is “Where are all the leaks you know about?” And the plumbing consultant will write down where all the leaks are, and then present that list to the client executives as a deliverables document. Which of course states nothing the client worker bees didn’t know already.
If the answer to question 1) is yes, then question 2) is really what’s going to define the project. There may be a communications gap between the people who know about the leaks and the executives who hired the consultant. There may be full awareness of the problem with the leaks, but a lack of internal resources to deal with them. Or it may simply be that the executives are bringing in the consultants because they want the leaks fixed, and none of the in-house efforts have fixed the damn things.
For a real-life example comparable to the plumbing analogy, consider the planning phase of a systems integration project. Change “leaks document” to “systems diagram”. Other than that, the comparison pretty much holds true. A systems integration consultant may have more experience with working on that type of project than the in-house resources. But he’s often not going to have the same level of expertise with the company’s systems. Which means asking a lot of questions, writing down the answers, and presenting what’s already known, or that people generally had a pretty good idea about. The benefit of all that is that at the end of the planning phase, there’s actually a plan, which there most likely wasn’t before. And hopefully, there’s an execution phase that follows where the systems are successfully integrated. Or, going back to the analogy, the pipes are fixed.
And then refuses to give it back to you.
Successful business consulting firms recognize that there function is to provide justification for the conclusions that the people that hire them already have in mind. The trick is to make it non obvious that this is what is going on.
Yeah, in addition to the anecdote I posted upthread, I recall two specific cases where our report/recommendations were distinctly NOT what management wanted to hear. One of them took us seriously, the other fired us on the spot.
Well, I can see that I have genuinely perplexed everyone, so I am going to call this phenomenon, “Borrowing my Watch,” until I get a better answer.
One person mentioned the 80-20 principle, so I am going to have to look for the 20 percent that know what they are doing.
I do not feel that this phenomenon should be called consulting. There are consultants that actually help people, and deserve their payment. The people that tell me what I already know - what I don’t need anyone to tell me, definitely do not deserve any money for what they tell me.
Thanks for chiming in people.
But if you were already completely sure you knew how to deal with a situation, why go to someone else at all? If you are capable of reliably self-diagnosing your medical condition, computer problems, legal options, etc., why do you even bother going to experts? Confirming that what you supposedly “already know” is correct is a valuable service in itself.
This is all a huge red flag. You should disclose this to any professional whom you might be considering consulting. If I were in that position, I would certainly want to know that about you before wasting my time and expertise to inform you of what you already “know.”
I suspect that the reason you want a name for this universal behavior that is supposedly cheating you is so that you can say to them “Don’t borrow my watch to tell me the time, give me some real information or I’m not paying you,” thereby making your accusations more concrete and believable.
I also have to wonder why you’re so coy about giving a concrete example. I suspect it’s because you know you’re being unreasonable.
Indeed. I’ll ask again: can we have one or two real-world examples? I mean, I’ve taken my kid to the doctor a few times, thinking she has a cold. Turns out, she has a cold. The doctor hasn’t told me anything I didn’t know. But they did confirm it’s a cold, not something worse. And I’ve taken up their time. And they deserve to be paid for their expertise in confirming and their time. Is this the type of confirmation the OP is on about? Or is it something that truly is a con? It is difficult to ascertain without an example, and given that the OP seems to imply they’re being ripped off left and right, I have a feeling we have a difference of opinion as to what is reasonable to charge for and what is not.
The other day I went to grocery store and picked up some apples. On the way out of the store the cashier tried to charge me for the apples, which I already had.
Well, I’m guessing that many folks have no idea how a building is built or how to go about repairing, adding on, etc. So It would be totally appropriate to ask your carpenter for their opinion, or for your carpenter to ask you for more information, you might be surprised how much a carpenter can bring to the table.
As has been mentioned, a person giving advice for a fee will want to have some idea of what you know.
I do agree, to the extent that this may seem condescending or give the impression of superiority, then that can’t help either party understand what an answer to a given situation might be.
I happen to be in the process of having an estate set up, My Attorney and I have spent some time just to get on the same page, for me, I didn’t feel talked down to, I felt I was just spending some time learning a little of the various issues involved.
Respectfully yours, Zuer-coli
I think I’ll take a swing at the part " talks to you* as if you don’t know anything." Well, how is the other person to know what you know? I will allow, as a former Plumber, in general I know more about Plumbing than most homeowners, but I can’t possibly know what they know. Plumber speak is not necessarily all that comprehensible to non-plumbers. Most non-plumbers have very little knowledge of venting and as venting is integral to drainage, sometimes you do need to be able to explain venting in non-plumber speak.
If I’m saying something about plumbing that you already know or think you know, it’s not at all condescending for me to probe, you may have an erroneous idea or two.
As for the issue of payment, much depends on the situation. If you ask for an estimate up front, I wouldn’t expect to get paid unless I do the work. If on the other hand, you call me because you have a problem and I tell you what I think needs to be done, something that it’s entirely possible that you also know, and you decide not to use my services, if I’ve told you there is a trip charge or a “first-hour charge” Use my services or no, I expect to get paid.
*you is used in the sense of a universal rather than an individual.
Respectfully yours, Zuer-coli
The term you are looking for is “Arrogance”
As in, your arrogance.
By hiring a consultant, you have explicitly told him that “I don’t know about this thing, please inform me”
Then you bitch because he does exactly what you are hiring him to do?
Seems to me that if every professional from a vast slew of different professions has done this to you, there is one common denominator.
There’s no con involved here. Your perception of what you are asking them to provide versus what they are expecting they are providing is at odds. I suggest that it is your expectations that need to be adjusted.
People want to be paid for work. Sometimes that work is “consultation”, which is conversing about the topic to agree on what is known and what the problem is and what the approach for a solution is. Sometimes when consultants provide the answer, the client then decides to do the work themselves or take it to someone else to do. Thus the consultant wishes to be paid for consulting.
It’s become plain to me that some of you, who are consultants, have done this to your clients before. And, you are trying to defend your behavior in this message thread.
I am not giving examples, because I am not disclosing situations that are personal, dealing with medical conditions, or the examples themselves could name someone - thereby being slanderous. I am not giving examples because I am being considerate of the individuals in question, much more than they would be considerate of me.
The question that I have posed has been answered, not adequately enough, but to the best of this message board’s ability.
Thank you everyone for chiming in, and trying to help me.
You know you can give a general example and anonymize the details? Nobody is asking for names or locations.
But, anyway, it’s clear what is going on here (and I am not, nor have ever functioned as a consultant.)
Ack, sorry. Forgot we’re in GQ. That may have been a bit snarkier than necessary.
Anyhow, glad you got some answers.
Since the OP seems disinclined to provide enough information for anyone to give an informed answer, and since he regards the responses so far to be sufficient, I am going to close this. I don’t think leaving it open will be productive.
Anyone else with specific questions or observations about consulting is welcome to open a thread in an appropriate forum. This one is closed.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator