I started engaging with smartData Enterprises over 8 months ago on a project which was supposed to last 2 months. I understand that issues can come about during a project, but their sales guys are full of it. They will tell you want you want to hear, promising that they know how to program, and that your project can be completed in a specific timeframe. If you want a realistic timeline, youd better multiple the time they give you by three.

We were promised that the sales person is also a project manager who would be overseeing the project. Dont believe this as as soon as we came onboard, we heard from their sales person only once more. I understand that this can also happen with U.S. based companies, but they flat out lied to us about the set-up and interaction. Then, the main person appointed to the project who is supposed to discuss the details of the project on a regular basis took a leave of absence. We were never sure if that was accurate or if there was something else going on as this was the individual who was involved in pre-sales discussions giving us comfortability with the project.

They placed another project manager who we were advised was soley focused on our project. Sure enough, when we he wasnt available all the time, we learned that he was working on other projects. Again, we would have been okay with this, but its not what we were told. In fact, half the time, you dont know whats going on as much of the staff shares the same skype ID. Its sad because you actually dont know who you are communicating with. You would hope that youre communicating with the same person who is working on your project, but we learned this wasnt the case when someone else who knew little about our project was suddenly corresponding via skype on the same username.

I really assumed that the positive reviews on Elance meant that they are providing great work. But, it really isnt a fair assessment because this company is large, and when speaking to someone who worked with them in the past, they apparently ask that if you cannot give a 5 star rating, they would prefer no rating at all. They pride themselves on a being one of the largest providers on Elance, but their rating is a poor reflection as its skewed since many folks simply dont give a rating.

You also get swayed in a bit by the competitive price, but dont get suckered in. They charge for their mistakes and before you know it, its the same price you would be paying a much more expensive firm which has better service, more accurate timelines, and can produce high quality work.

Dont get me wrong, this is a sweat shop of programmers and they can program. But, whether or not, youll be happy with the end result and in what month or what year the work actually gets done is another story. Be careful if you have a serious project where timelines actually mean something to you.