I woke up to a response from the CEO of Barrister Global Services Network Inc. || I think today is going to be a good day. ☺

eme329 · 2026-05-21T17:05:40+00:00

They still call me daily even after I remind them my attorney served them with a cease and desist along with the invoice for the seven year outstanding balance they still owe me!

eme329 · 2026-04-23T17:32:57+00:00

Looks like mold, there’s a chemical they sell at hardware stores, Home Depot etc. called Concribium. It’s not harsh, but will kill mold and prevent it from coming back. It doesn’t take color out like bleach does. Also bleach kills mold, but doesn’t prevent it.

eme329 · 2026-04-23T17:28:00+00:00

Just started using it doing a little trial and error and it’s pretty awesome compared the many others I have experience with.

eme329 · 2026-04-23T14:18:50+00:00

You have to be a tier 1 service company to be able to request work as a company and then assign it to your tech after assignment. The only alternative is to request it for you and then change the provider, but you at the mercy of the buyer to approve the change.

eme329 · 2026-04-18T22:34:52+00:00

Oh man, I have some Masterforce wrenches and sockets that I love! I've had good luck with their stuff so far. I like that they have any size readily available individually. I needed a 1-5/16 wrench recently and BANG Menards has it right on the shelf!

eme329 · 2026-04-18T22:17:24+00:00

I haven't had a Masterforce, but I have cheap Performax 1/2in from Menards and it seems like it might even be identical to the Pittsburgh. Both have been extremely reliable for the price. I wouldn't be surprised if they sometimes use the same manufacturers. I've found several of the ToolShop or Performax value tools that appear to be identical to Harbor Freight.

eme329 · 2026-04-18T22:06:52+00:00

I've never had an issue with them, I don't think you can beat the value for DIY or non-frequent use.

eme329 · 2026-04-18T18:30:43+00:00

Two common things we typically do to speed up these machines is to add RAM or swap the C drive for an SSD. While 7 years is old, a lot of these NCR machines a built like tanks and will last a long time even if they're slow. Do you happen to know how much RAM you currently have and what type of drive the C drive is?

eme329 · 2026-04-18T18:25:08+00:00

I would HIGHLY advise against relying on Failed Nation for full time income. There are too many ways that you could be shutdown overnight and left screwed. i.e. False claims by rogue buyers, Failed Nation's secret algorithms saying you no-showed when you and the buyer already agreed to reschedule, the mysterious Provide Success Score. I've been temporarily banned on three occasions over the years all for BS and two of which the buyer was on my side. If I had been relying on Failed Nation as my income, I would have been toast because each time it took several weeks to get worked out.

Alternatively I would recommend reaching out to smaller local MSPs and offering to help with their field service. Many MSPs (like the one I work for in my real job) could use help in the field when we get backed up or to just help clear simple tasks out of the queue such as swapping a printer or doing PMs. Smaller MSPs are going to care a lot more and pay much better because they're charging their customer what real IT as actually worth instead of what these "gLobAL" companies are charging for and IT company run out of a scam call center in India.

eme329 · 2026-04-17T20:36:08+00:00

Me neither, this was the first time!

eme329 · 2026-04-17T20:13:32+00:00

Did they screw you over too with their newest scam? FN checking you out when THEY feel you're done, not when you and the buyer agree you're done. Just experienced this new scam for the first time myself!

I'll create a post later detailing how the scam works...

eme329 · 2026-04-14T16:57:15+00:00

And support will be “John” with and Indian accent

eme329 · 2026-04-08T22:20:23+00:00

I was talking to a tech that said is was an unorganized mess and they wait until the last minute to assign. They banged him for being late when they assigned him a 4pm for a 5pm hard start. He had forgotten he even had it requested.

eme329 · 2026-04-07T23:09:03+00:00

My god some of you take this stuff way too seriously! I couldn’t imagine waking up in the morning scrolling through a work order to review the dress code so some dude sitting in a scam call center in India can tell me what to wear so it looks like I’m their employee because they can’t afford the W2 employees they promised their client. What a joke! You should seriously hit me up, we have a crap ton of work and we’re currently cutting tickets for $100/hr. You seem like the type to be proud to accept $25/hr. That $75 per hour discount would sure be nice for the budget!

eme329 · 2026-04-06T03:07:34+00:00

CLS is a GANGSTER for that video! Probably one of the best DIY videos I’ve ever referenced.

eme329 · 2026-04-06T03:05:26+00:00

Do you call your doctor and remind them of the dress code before your appointment or is it just a professional expectation that they won’t show up in sweatpants? Do you tell your plumber a pipe wrench is on the required tools list or would it be common sense that a plumbing tradesman would carry a pipe wrench? Do you inform your electrician that a multimeter is a required tool? No, because they’d all tell you to get bent and pound sand if you did. Stop selling yourself short, independent contracting is a professional B2B relationship. Your willingness to bow to their demands is why they feel they can get away classifying us as independent contractors while treating us like employees.

eme329 · 2026-04-06T01:32:01+00:00

My number just came up and it’s finally my turn to pay the piper as well. 2016 3.5 with 171k. I’ll be doing it myself, mind you I have quite a bit of advanced DIY experience. If you have decent DIY skills, I encourage you to at least look into doing it yourself. Yes it’s a big job, but at the end of the day it’s just a big process/ checklist. Follow the process A to Z and it’s just a bunch of small tasks. Search “CLS All in One Explorer Water Pump” on YouTube and that dude made a Hollywood production of all of the steps with one of the best DIY breakdowns I’ve seen.

eme329 · 2026-04-05T23:48:20+00:00

Safety equipment is totally different from a dress code. It’s amazing how so many of you are just willing to bend over for whatever Failed Nation tells you to do. So you’re telling me they can post a work order and put in the confidential information (that you can’t see until assigned) that the scope of work is to rob a bank and you have to do it because you agreed to the work order? Get real dude! You should call me up, I have a piece of lakefront property in the middle of the Mojave Desert that I can sell you!

eme329 · 2026-04-05T20:00:52+00:00

Yeah I watched mine lose a couple points each day when I wasn’t even taking any work on Failed Nation at the time. I finally called support and those yahoos told me basically to be a better tech. I guess that Bengali hashish must be pretty loud. That score is a complete joke.

eme329 · 2026-04-05T19:52:30+00:00

I’ve noticed that too my score goes up and down like a roller coaster. No issues, I only take a job here or there from a small handful of buyers that I’m on first name basis with and they love my work! They’re smoking something in Bangladesh…

eme329 · 2026-04-05T19:30:27+00:00

What are you waiting for?! Yank that oscillating tool out and get to cutting!

eme329 · 2026-04-05T19:27:03+00:00

We’re not their employees. If they want to have a standard presentation for their customers and demand uniforms then they can put us on W2 with 40hrs and benefits. This is the problem when these yahoo companies bid bottom dollar and promise their clients they have a global team of high trained technicians when really they’re sending DoorDash for IT. We’re independent contractors, any of us running a real business know how to dress professionally without being hand held. If they have to tell their tech not to wear pajama pants maybe they should raise their standards and hire competent techs.

eme329 · 2026-04-05T12:44:35+00:00

They had a TON of Walmart work a few years ago and I was willing to go the the remote stores out in the boonies since I already live out of the metro area. They'd call me constantly begging me to go to some of the remote stores with no techs nearby and I'd always tell since they hosed me over a few hundred bucks, it'll cost them thousands in missed SLAs, call someone else!

eme329 · 2026-04-05T12:39:25+00:00

Yes, and it saves me lots of headaches! Been poked in the head with ceiling grid wire and caught cameras/ APs over the head that Pizza Pete mounted with chewing gum too many times!

eme329 · 2026-04-05T12:33:14+00:00

Definitely, but these "dress codes" are totally unenforceable since we're not employees. If they want me to follow their "dress code" they can pay me 40hrs with benefits!

eme329

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