We have a new relationship with a consulting firm that provides X service to our company. Unfortunately, this relationship has not gotten off to a great start; while the consulting firm is themselves generally well-respected and good at what they do, one of the technical resources they have assigned to our project has proven difficult to deal with.
In particular:
1) This individual struggles with relaying things via e-mail in a professional manner- e.g. saying "Z feature is terrible and must be changed right away" rather than "Z feature requires improvement, and should be a priority if possible for (reasons)". This has proven especially abrasive as the resource is so new to our company/ecosystem that, for example, they do not yet understand why Z feature was originally built in that manner or even what control we have over its functionality.
2) This individual struggles to stay on-task; again, we have hired this firm to provide X service, but have received several e-mails from this resource (often aligning with the tone in 1) that pertain to areas far outside their original scope of engagement. Ultimately, we had a very specific reason for bringing this firm aboard, and the fact this resource is spending time/effort concentrating on what I would consider frivolous pursuits is concerning.
As of this afternoon, we've firmly clarified 2) with this resource and their lead, reiterating our expectations and needs. However, I envision a response from the resource that aligns with what I describe in 1), and have yet to find a way to adequately address that aspect overall.