We have already said that every VA company can get it wrong...........

The waiting time is but one of a number of imperfections in

Like many others using the services, Ms. Levy was inspired by two books: Thomas L. Friedman’s “The World Is Flat” and Timothy Ferriss’s “The 4-Hour Workweek.” Mr. Ferriss preaches that people spend 80 percent of their time on the trivial 20 percent of tasks, and he urges readers to outsource anything that can be done for a cost less than the value of their own time.

Mr. Ferriss recommends Brickwork and GetFriday, and both services are reaping the benefit. Brickwork has a staff of 160 in Bangalore and uses as many as 150 others as consultants, according to its founder and chief executive, Vivek Kulkarni. Brickwork says that it has had 150 clients in the United States and many more in Europe, Australia and Hong Kong.

GetFriday, a division of TTK Services, has a staff of 140 serving about 1,000 clients, according to the company’s director, Sunder Prakasham. He said that a related division, YourManInIndia, serves 20,000 Indian expatriates who want to get things done in their homeland. GetFriday charges $15 an hour, plus $10 a month, though rates are lower for those who have monthly plans. For instance, a 40-hour-a-month plan costs $360. Brickwork charges $15 to $25 an hour.

There is a three-week wait for new clients of GetFriday, and the company is hiring 25 people a week to meet the demand, Mr. Sunder said.

However, the waiting time is but one of a number of imperfections in the still-developing market for outsourced labor. People in the United States who have used the services of companies like Brickwork and GetFriday say they have wrestled with miscommunication, poorly received instructions and work that has not met expectations.

Meanwhile there are plenty of annoyed clients out there.......

Like Joe ...'I hired GetFriday (the new division of Your Man In India) that Ferriss recommended in his book. Unfortunately, I didn't have a good experience and eventually found that it was much easier to do things myself than to give it to them to A.) do poorly and then B.) me have to explain what it SHOULD be and then C.) to find that their second attempt was only marginally better than their first attempt'.

The point is that whilst Ferris wrote a book..... could Ferris's book have been written by a ghost writer? Sometimes I wonder as it has encouraged people to focus on 'Your Man in India'.........

The point is that India has competition from the Philippines in the rising star CatchFriday...that appears to be a real contender for the crown!

The Philippines which was an American colony, unlike India, which was part a British colony........

The Philippines with all it's imperfections, compared with India, and all the hype.... is cheaper than their Indian counterparts, with CatchFriday charging from just US$10 an hour.....

Speaking to Lawrence Perry, the Brand Leader, and Englishman in London, UK........CatchFriday will match GetFriday and undercut their monthly hours package by at least a buck if not more an hour........

CatchFriday work American office hours.......but email requests are dealt with every hour through their contact form....