Complaint Review: Meritservus

As you can tell, my story is confirmed by Hotmnikola. I have tried getting in touch with this individual. Not sure whether Nikola is male or female but it appears that the handle Hotmnikola might be a short form of Hotmail + Nikola.

At any rate, this just goes to show you how devious Meritservus really is. When Persella 'Reptilla' Ioannides asked me to hold off from leaving, they (Meritservus) were probably already in negotiations with the next victim. The wednesday we had a meeting, Nikola and Meritservus probably reached an agreement. It didn't take long for the s..t to hit the fan. Nikola, I think is from some part of Europe. His cultural background is much closer to that of Meritservus and he didn't last even two weeks? Sheeesh.

Okay, let me put all this in perspective:
1) I am only sure that Nikola joined after me and he had the 'same' experience. Whatever this means, I am not so sure. All I can say is that it was unpleasant and can't imagine he/she would still be working at Meritservus/MeritKapital.

2) Meritservus is dishonest and devious: On the one hand they pretended it was their wish for me to continue and on the other hand, they were planning to replace me. And heck, why pay me if they were acquiring a new hand eh?!

A reptile by nature is sly, devious and unpredictable. I can't think of a better simile for the people I have been unfortunate to work with at Meritservus. In particular, I refer to Goran Pesic, Persella Ioannides, her autocratic father Demetris Ioannides and to some extent her brother Panos. The last time I saw Panos, was at the Starbucks in Limassol. He cast a few hateful looks in my direction and that was that.

Of course there are some nice people at meritservus. I am sorry that they are part of the reptilian organization.

I can confirm John's story. I came there immediatelly after he left and had same experience.

job position in cyprus
Tuesday, December 16, 2008 1:39 AM
From:
To: john
Cc:
Hello John,I hope all is well and that you had a good weekend and a nice start to the week.As my father is traveling he has asked me to email you on his behalf; we got very positive feedback on your technical skills and the work you relayed to us from our IT manager and would thus be very much interested to work with you. [The IT manager (Goran Pesic) is a Network Administrator. He interviewed me at the same time as Demetris and Persella. So for the record, at this time, my skills are well-represented and assessed as competent by all involved.]We would like thus to offer you a position with us under the terms i believe you already discussed with my dad; [In this light, Meritservus offers me a job on the terms already discussed with 'dad' (Demetris). Only problem is that no terms were discussed: no agreement on salary; housing was not even mentioned. And Persella later accused me of misrepresentation!]
the salary you discussed already, [Demetris and I had not agreed on any salary.] the housing will be subsidized for a 6 - month trial period during which both yourself and us will see if we can find a fit. [Evidently there was no fit noticeable in the first 3 weeks!]Please let me know if the above seems agreeable to you -
[Persella likes to use the hyphen generously. One can only wonder what she means.]We look forward to hearing from you soon - Persella.
--
Persella D. IoannidesHead of Investment Advice_Meritkapital_
======
From: John
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 3:33 PM
To: Persella Ioannides
Cc: dioannides@meritservus.com
Subject: Re: job position in cyprus

Hi Persella,
Thank you for the feedback. Although your father and I discussed salary, there was no final agreement regarding salary. I would accept an offer based on the following:
Monthly salary of 2700 euros.
450 euros per month housing subsidy for the first 6 months. 2500 euros relocation assistance. I thank you for your offer and am interested in moving ahead provided you are still interested in continuing. Please be kind enough to email a formal offer outlining all the above.Sincerely,
John
[In my response I decided to outline the terms since Demetris and I had in fact not agreed to any terms.]
=============
RE: job position in cyprus
Thursday, January 8, 2009 11:31 PM
From:
To: john
Dear John,
Thanks for your suggested terms. We really do appreciate your qualifications and competencies. [Huh? And yet Persella has the gall to say that I misrepresented myself later?!] Taken the current market conditions however, we cannot afford the luxury to be very generous with salaries of new recruits. [This sounds so arrogant but given that email communications are not easy I decide to overlook this. My first response was: "Well, can you afford not to be generous?!"] The best we can offer is the following:
Monthly salary- 2.500 Euro
For accommodation We offer you a 2BR flat in very good condition overlooking the ocean (60m away) for 6 months for free. [The apartment was clean but it was far from being in a great condition. It could use a fresh coat of paint; it lacks certain essential equipment such as microwave and clothes hanger or dryer. The apartment lacked heating and air-conditioning!] The normal rent taken for the flat is 600 Eur. Should you decide to continue with renting this flat after the 6 months, we will offer it to you for 450 Eur rent per month. (We can send you pics) [I can only imagine how much of this is actually true regarding the rental value. For starters, the apartment is probably only rented to tourists in a given high-season period. The pics I received were deceptive and misrepresented the fact that directly in front of the balcony there is a JUNK-YARD containing the shells of two old cars and other GARBAGE!]
Relocation assistance We offer you disbursement of your flight tickets from the US (economy class). [I should have insisted on first month salary and sign-on bonus.]
Salary reassessment in six months based on performance [Whatever this means...]
With best regards
Persella D. Ioannides
Head of Investment Advice
Meritkapital
www.meritkapital.com
=========
Decision
Sunday, January 11, 2009 5:08 PM
From:
To:
Cc: john

Dear Persella, [In good humour I switch to the use of 'Dear' in reciprocation].
Thank you very much for your offer. After due consideration, I don't think I can accept at this time. [I made the right decision. I suspected Persella and her Dad were misrepresenting themselves. It was clear to me the salary was not really acceptable given I had asked Persella for a monthly breakdown and she did not respond to my request immediately, only after I declined her offer. In fact, I was not asking much at all for someone in my position. I have earned over $1000 per day at the height of my career and over $130K per annum. I was not interested in this job primarily for remuneration, but wished to maintain a respectable salary.]
Once again, thank you very much. [So, I remain polite and civil.]
Sincerely,
John
RE: Individual Tax rates
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:36 AM
From: Add
To: john
Cc: , dioannides@meritservus.com,
Dear John
My name is Panos, I am Persella's brother and I work for the firm too; I am a little more familiar with salary mechanisms.
At Meritservus we follow a 13 month salary benefit scheme (you get an extra tax-free salary in December); this means your annual gross salary would amount to 13 x 2.500 Eur = 32.500 Eur. The following is a summary of your compensation package. Please also remember that we will re-assess your salary in 6 months.
...
Monthly salary 2,500
Gross annual salary (incl 13th month benefit) 32,500
...
Salary in real terms* 37,575.00
...

I'm afraid this is the best we can do John. I really hope that you will re-consider our offer as I genuinely believe it is a very competitive offer.
Let me know if you have further questions.
Best regards,
Panos Ioannides
Associate
Meritservus
[So I receive this email from Panos (Persella's brother). Of the family-trio, he is the only one with good communication skills and a polite manner. This said, there is no love lost between Panos and me. However it was far easier to communicate with Panos than with anyone else at Meritservus. After Panos presented the facts, I decided to reconsider. I am so very sorry I reconsidered.]
============
RE: Individual Tax rates
Tuesday, January 13, 2009 7:53 AM
From: Add
To:
Cc: , dioannides@meritservus.com, , john

Your exaplanation is helpful. Thank you for the details. However, to be quite frank (as I always am, so please do not take offense), it matters little to me that you will reassess my salary in 6 months time; the present terms are weightier in my opinion. After all, you may elect not to increase my salary following your review for whatever reason. As a skilled software development professional, the terms I requested are within the market, neither excessive nor ridiculous.
Nevertheless, I appreciate your interest. Therefore I would like a few more days to reconsider your offer. So, if you are still interested, I will respond by the end of the week.
Sincerely,
John

[I am still very concerned that Meritservus is sincere and decide to think about their offer....]
=============
From: John
Sent: 16 January 2009 22:59
To: pi@meritservus.com; pioannides@meritservus.com; dioannides@meritservus.com; hkpajunen@meritservus.com
Subject: Your offer.

If you are still interested, I am interested in moving forward on the agreed terms as per Panos' last email. What start-date would you be looking at?
John [Very half-heartedly I decide to move ahead.]
======
RE: Your offer.
Saturday, January 17, 2009 12:41 AM
From:
To:
That is great news. We are very happy to hear that. We would be ready to have you started whenever you are.
Kind regards,
Persella D. Ioannides
Head of Investment Advice
Meritkapital
[Great news? They had hired an experienced professional for a mere 2500 euros, no sign-on bonus, no upfront reimbursement of expenses or guarantees of salary. At this time I would say I turned complete idiot.
===========
I started keeping a journal at Meritservus after my first in-person encounter with Goran.]
Journal

Week ending 2/13/09:

I met Goran on my second day at Meritservus. This came about as I happened to accompany Jay Neale to Goran's office. Upon entering the office I greeted Goran and Linos. Jay had finished talking with Goran and was leaving when Goran started speaking with me. His first question was, So what do you know about Datasnap, Interbase and Codegear and what is your experience?

I responded that I had not used any of these but was familiar with the technology since I have used Oracle, ODBC, ADO, MS SQL, Borland's Pascal and I know C++ fairly well. I added that my experience in object oriented programming is extensive and my total experience spans 24 years.

Goran immediately became aggressive. Initially I had no idea why he reacted this way. In retrospect, I believe he assumed I was being arrogant. Goran also began to express his dislike of Microsoft technology and asked if I knew any of the key figures at Borland Corporation. Without precedent, Goran began speaking about respect and equality and how he runs his department (sic) on a similar model. He then proceeded to attack my character implying I am arrogant: How can they (MeritServus) hire someone without DataSnap experience? You are not qualified for this position.

I responded by stating that my main purpose was to get the job done. I added that my lack of experience in DataSnap, Codegear and Interbase was not a stumbling block and that I would learn fast. I continued to reassure Goran that I had no interest in his position and that I am not a threat to him in any way. I stated that I wanted us to work together in harmony. I suffer from depression and do not like to work in a stressful environment I have had enough of this as a consultant over many years in my career. Thinking we were on the same page and that we had reached some agreement, we parted ways as I returned to the main building.

The following days I attended the Synergist training and meetings. I quickly understood there were a lot of issues without resolution. I realized it would be a good idea to i) Backup or duplicate the initial database in case we needed to revert to a clean starting point. I suggested duplicating the tables rather than trying to restore data from a backup which can be much harder and can cause problems by overwriting other data that is still valid. ii) A pilot phase where we would not go live but simply try the system for 2-4 weeks so that we can gain confidence and iron out issues that include business methods and operation of Synergist.

When I suggested the above to Jay, he mentioned his wife had similar thought regarding a pilot the previous night independently of me. I discussed this with Mr. Ioannides and he mentioned that I might discuss it with Goran. Goran's immediate response was, John, you know what it means to copy database tables?!, Look John, Stop interfering!!! In this and anything else. I responded that I would follow his advice and not mention it again. However, his rudeness offended me and I felt the need to talk this out. After speaking with Panos, I returned to the boardroom from where I was stationed. Later I saw Goran walking into Panos' office and emerging after 20 minutes. He entered the boardroom without greeting; holding his right hand high and shaking it, he began to say in angry tone, JOHN!!! 2 things. At this time I cut him short and said I refuse to listen to him and would not allow him or anyone else to speak to me this way. He left the boardroom and next I saw him was in Mr. Ioannides' office.

As the meeting drew to a close, Goran remarked three times , John is not on my team. He again remarked I do not want John on my team. This all in spite of Mr. Ioannides' admonitions to work as a team.

I am only sorry that I lost my cool in front of Panos in the meeting that followed between Panos, Goran and I. I do not usually lose my temper so easily. However, I have been under extreme stress from jetlag and the undue stress caused by Goran's insecurities and dislikes.

2/17/09:

I received Goran's two tasks today. This seems more like a test to me than something required for work. The information is incomplete and the document (email) is poorly communicated. Goran did not specify where the database for import is located so that I went on a scavenger hunt to find it. I am also stunned that anyone might be interested in converting an SQL database to Interbase after all, it's like moving from a Rolls Royce to a Volks Wagen.

Goran has no intention of cooperating. He is playing the game of cat and mouse. Hiding or distorting information for his own agenda. Unfortunately Goran projects his thoughts onto others. This is too bad because someone with poor communication skills and almost zero social skills is in a position to cause much undue stress. All the people I have spoken to thus far who have worked at Meritservus dislike Goran.

2/18/09:
I asked Goran to explain how to import the data but he did not provide any answers except to refer me to the manual. So, I have decided to read the manual to determine what Goran knows or does not know. I think he means I should use TIB (Borland's Interbase Tab components). As I am unfamiliar with this, I will try some examples once I've read the manual.

2/19/09:
Goran today admitted that the assigned tasks were a test - as I suspected. In fact, he used a 3rd party software tool called DataPump to accomplish the same. In my searches I noticed this but was under the impression Goran wanted me to code the application. After all, he referred me to Chapter 11 if you look at this, it shows you how to accomplish the task through (incomplete) code snippets. I am offended because I do not need to prove anything to anyone. In fact, after speaking with Goran today, by his own admission, he did not have the code I was trying to develop. He accused me falsely on several levels which I have already covered in previous parts of my journal (this is an excerpt from my journal). On one occasion he even accused me of misrepresentation and lying. Why am I being tested? When you offered me a job, you knew my abilities. I don't need to go on scavenger hunts or take any tests. I can accomplish anything I set my mind to.

I mentioned to Goran that if he were not aware of my abilities now, then he never would be. He agreed that I am a good programmer but stated that he might need additional help in IT. Well, I was not hired to do this. Not that I would be unwilling to help, but this is something that is clearly evident from my resume. I am a software developer, not a technician.

Goran and I have agreed to move on but I am somehow still wary of Goran. I do not fully trust him and am concerned what the next spat might be about even though I hope there will not be another one. I think there are certain interactions Goran expects to occur in a way he understands and when this does not happen, he becomes upset, then fearful and then develops a dislike.

Goran mentioned he resigned and it was declined by you. This confirms what I suspected regarding Goran's work politics.

I do not like to work under stress. In fact, research shows that employees produce more and deliver better quality when there is less stress. The organizational culture of Meritservus is unlike any other I have encountered. I am not so sure I belong. However, this has been a big step for me and would like to give it a chance to succeed.

So now I am going to download Datapump and figure out how to use it even though Goran has already done this.

2/20/09:
Today I tendered my resignation. Persella has informed me that Mr. D Ioannides wants me to hold off doing anything for a few days. On a more serious note, I have evidence that Goran and/or Linos have been spying on me. The Terminal Services service (although manual) is configured to start regardless. On a number of occasions I noticed that my Remote Access Connection manager had been started. On 1 occasion I started it but on a couple of other occasions it had been started by the administrator and/or the system. On at least 4 occasions, my internet explorer browser closed without my intervention. I believe that an ALT-F4 was executed in stealth mode. Persella asked if I could work on some Bloomberg software for her but what Goran forwarded to me is both incomplete and faulty. When I tried to open the project (in Codegear), there were errors.

2/23/09
Had a meeting with Panos and made a proposition to him about letting me run new software and allowing Goran to continue administering the network and supporting the software he is already involved in. Panos's response was that Goran would not accept this. Makes one wonder who is really running the show here Panos mentioned that Goran feels threatened but that he had learned to communicate with Mr. D and thus found favor in his (Mr. D's) sight.
I stated that I cannot report to Goran: it is not possible for me to communicate on Goran's level and there is no chemistry. Add to this the fact that we have nothing in common and you have trouble waiting to happen. Panos implied that we might work together however, Goran refuses to cooperate on any level. Every request made to Goran has been met with aggression or denial. It is not possible to cooperate with Goran on any level.

Later in the day Persella and I rehashed some of the same stuff and I started working on a Bloomberg/Meritservus report. I created a login with BB and spent time (about 3 hours) with a live BB representative learning how to use the system a crash course in BB we covered exporting to spreadsheets and the BB API. We also discussed real-time issues and the new BB functions. The final topic of our conversation was the use of APIs from programming languages in a client-server environment.

The data APIs for spreadsheets are accessible using DAPI (Data API) and the web based APIs are accessible using WAPI. I enquired about a developer license and was directed to request information from BREP.

Currently the report Persella is using is generated by some code written by Goran (Bloombergclient.exe) in Delphi. It has errors in that it uses the security name' rather than the stock symbol (ticker). The ticker is a unique id. An example where this faulty report is produced is portfolio FSF.

2/24/09
Today I plan to investigate the generation of reports from Excel spreadsheets since I was informed yesterday by the BB representative that real time quotes are updated 3 times every second and can be updated manually at random. This being the case, it will not be necessary to write software like Goran's Bloombergclient.exe but to generate the report directly from Excel. This has added benefits in the form of fewer bugs and also an easier to use tool. Since I do not have a terminal, I will populate the Excel sheet with sample data.

I have established that it is fairly easy to reproduce the required reports (e.g. MeritKapital Portfolio FSF) using Excel.

Mr. Apostollos from BB in the UK called me to discuss Persella's reports and the BB developer license. He stated he would obtain a price (including details of the developer terminal license) and inform before the end of business today. It is almost 5pm now and he has yet to respond. So, I will wait until noon tomorrow and remind him again.

His contact number is: +44 207 707 0925.

2/25/09
Last night Persella was very short and rude to me. I suspect she thought that I was leaving early and had not done any work the whole day. After thinking about my whole experience here at Meritservus, I have reached the conclusion that I am not a good fit in the organization's culture. It is almost as if I am on another planet. I cannot stand the rudeness, the lack of respect and the lack of even the least courtesy. I have been very stressed out since day 1. As I cannot communicate with these people on their level, the best decision is to leave. This is nightmarish for me I should have followed my first instinct and stayed with my decision not to come out here. Persella IMs me and asks what progress has been made? I presumed she meant the reports. I respond by telling her to give me time to collect my thoughts and then I send her an email with her options. At this stage I had decided I was definitely leaving on Friday as it was clear to me that I would not be able to work with Persella or anyone else at Meritservus. I informed her that she had two options: one would be to use the spreadsheet to produce the reports and the other would be to investigate and fix Goran's client/server program. In the latter case I informed Persella I would only look at this if it loaded and compiled correctly in Codegear. The first zip file sent to me by Goran was unusable. Persella then mumbled something about rewriting the whole application from scratch. I tried to inform her that this is not a two-day job and in fact was still unsure where the error is occuring, that is, was it between Bloomberg and the spreadsheet or the spreadsheet and the code that is used to generate the reports. I was also not certain how the reports are generated, that is, was Goran using Rave reports or was all this being produced within the same application that retrieved the prices from BB. Note that I could not look at any of Goran's code because it would NOT LOAD CORRECTLY in Codegear. Persella has no idea of the complexity involved. In fact, till I left she was under the impression one could do all this without a Bloomberg terminal server. During the past week I was working with a contact from Borland who would provide working Delphi shell programs that would have allowed me to rewrite the application. He eventually contacted me after I left with what I had been trying to obtain unsuccessfully from Goran. In fact, I was concurrently researching and considering many other possibilities in order to avoid using any of Goran's code. She never gave me the opportunity to explain. Her responses were usually short and rude. Persella then requested a meeting with Panos in which Panos started off by saying: "John, Persella claims she gave you a task that you could not complete." Persella had given me no well-defined tasks and set no due dates. All she could do was continually ask me about what 'progress was being made.' I responded to Panos' question that I was unsure what Persella wanted. In fact, I am certain she herself did not know what she wanted in retrospect. The only conclusion I could reach is that she was using the opportunity as a pretext not to pay me. Unfortunately for her, I had already resigned and I did not have to explain myself to Panos or anyone else. However Panos was civil, so I responded as I stated.