Why do they not listen?

Question

Why do they not listen?

djj

SSCoach

Points: 18831
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September 29, 2014 at 6:37 am

#397422

They hire me to be a DBA and then they do not take my suggestions.
I tell them they should only store a standardized value. A prime example of where this would help is phone number. They put in whatever they want then have to run a udf to find the number to compare to. I have been overridden several times when I suggest cleaning the numbers they say there are extensions which I point out I can handle but no go.
This is just an example. I have been looking into why a procedure runs so long, well they programmed it to check every phone number using a udf that is not well written. i.e. it has multiple steps within the udf.
Sorry for the rant but I had to get it off my chest.:crying:

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Koen Verbeeck SSC Guru Points: 259105 More actions · Answer 1

Hire an overpriced consultant. Chances are they'll listen to him/her...

Need an answer? No, you need a question
My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP

dbafromthecold@gmail.com SSChampion Points: 10160 More actions · Answer 2

I've been in similar situations and it's frustrating as hell.

The only thing I can say is back what you're advising with stats. If you see a poor performing query, show a comparison between what's running and what you propose.

If they still won't listen then, well......

Gail Shaw SSC Guru Points: 1004504 More actions · Answer 3

Koen Verbeeck (9/29/2014)
Hire an overpriced consultant. Chances are they'll listen to him/her...

Unfortunately, this.

Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

We walk in the dark places no others will enter
We stand on the bridge and no one may pass

djj SSCoach Points: 18831 More actions · Answer 4

Koen Verbeeck (9/29/2014)
Hire an overpriced consultant. Chances are they'll listen to him/her...

This has happened to me in the past. 🙁

Andrew Kernodle SSCertifiable Points: 5314 More actions · Answer 5

Koen Verbeeck (9/29/2014)
Hire an overpriced consultant. Chances are they'll listen to him/her...

Oh, dear local value of $deity, this! I've had this happen twice at my current job for entirely absurd reasons :crazy:

We've got a web programmer here that's had about 10 years' worth of experience with various web languages, and a few years' worth of sysadmin knowledge. He designed the original website for the company, and it looked great, functioned well, and was easy to integrate new features into.

Then the company decided it needed an upgrade, but rather than ask him to do it, they decided a pricey consultant would be better. We ended up with a mangled monstrosity that was fixed-display for 1024x768 resolution, and tiled the page if your resolution was higher. "Ugly" was a complement.

So, a few years later (just a few months ago, actually), they wanted to fix that. So, they hired yet another consultant... And ended up with a WordPress site. They hired a WordPress designer, without knowing what WordPress was. Our site does a lot of media hosting, FTP, and secure file transfer. Needless to say, a mere blog was not going to get that done!

Argh. Well, I could blabble further, but I think that mostly conveys the sentiment :-D. The company here does seem to believe that, if they throw money at a consultant, they'll get better results than asking the in-house, already-paid-for, highly-experienced programmers. It boggles the mind.

- 😀

Alvin Ramard SSC-Forever Points: 41190 More actions · Answer 6

Koen Verbeeck (9/29/2014)
Hire an overpriced consultant. Chances are they'll listen to him/her...

If you happen to follow this route, be sure to provide management your recommendation before the consultant starts.

Alvin Ramard
Memphis PASS Chapter[/url]

All my SSC forum answers come with a money back guarantee. If you didn't like the answer then I'll gladly refund what you paid for it.

For best practices on asking questions, please read the following article: Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help[/url]

Eric M Russell SSC Guru Points: 125561 More actions · Answer 7

Koen Verbeeck (9/29/2014)
Hire an overpriced consultant. Chances are they'll listen to him/her...

Quit, and then be that overpriced consultant.

"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

Eric M Russell SSC Guru Points: 125561 More actions · Answer 8

Unfortunately, many IT shops are operated like a sausage factory. The DBA is just there to mop up spills and bang the data meat-grinder with a wrench when it breaks down.

"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

Ed Wagner SSC Guru Points: 287026 More actions · Answer 9

I think there are many, many people on this site that can relate to the OP's frustration. It is truly sad that management will spend a pile of money and then listen to a consultant rather than utilize the expertise they already have in house. I would definitely heed the suggestion above and send your suggestions before the consultant arrives. That will help to buy you credibility when the next situation like this arises. Granted, you had better be right. 😉 If they hire the right consultant, it'll work out. You may not get recognition for being right, but you'll get respect that's shown the next time something similar comes up.

Tally Tables - Performance Personified
String Splitting with True Performance
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Luis Cazares SSC Guru Points: 183706 More actions · Answer 10

Revoke create and alter permissions and create policies to apply changes to the database. People will start to do things right when they're enforced.

Luis C.
General Disclaimer:
Are you seriously taking the advice and code from someone from the internet without testing it? Do you at least understand it? Or can it easily kill your server?

How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help: Option 1 / Option 2

Alvin Ramard SSC-Forever Points: 41190 More actions · Answer 11

Luis Cazares (9/29/2014)
Revoke create and alter permissions and create policies to apply changes to the database. People will start to do things right when they're enforced.

That only works in management doesn't say: "Put things back the way they were!"

Alvin Ramard
Memphis PASS Chapter[/url]

All my SSC forum answers come with a money back guarantee. If you didn't like the answer then I'll gladly refund what you paid for it.

For best practices on asking questions, please read the following article: Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help[/url]

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004340 More actions · Answer 12

Koen Verbeeck (9/29/2014)
Hire an overpriced consultant. Chances are they'll listen to him/her...

BWAAAA-HAAA!!! BECOME and overpriced consultant! 😉

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004340 More actions · Answer 13

Eric M Russell (9/29/2014)
Koen Verbeeck (9/29/2014)
Hire an overpriced consultant. Chances are they'll listen to him/her...
Quit, and then be that overpriced consultant.

+1000!

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004340 More actions · Answer 14

Alvin Ramard (9/29/2014)
Luis Cazares (9/29/2014)
Revoke create and alter permissions and create policies to apply changes to the database. People will start to do things right when they're enforced.
That only works in management doesn't say: "Put things back the way they were!"

"I'm sorry, Dave, but I can't do that". :hehe:

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)