David Smith wrote: > Hi Foxers . I was hoping for some advice regarding exactly how honest is too > honest when it comes to working with clients. My situation: I did a website > and programmed some custom software for my leading client. Everything is > great, everyone is happy. Over the next few months I see a subtle uptick in > dissatisfaction as the tool they commissioned is being ignored by its > intended users, and an increasing amount of vague, non-specific gripes about > the site. Ignoring the fact the tools work perfectly and the site traffic > has more than doubled from their previous efforts, I find myself in a > somewhat frustrating position. What I'd really like to do is say " Hey > dummies, why not invest your time in looking for ways to leverage these > investments for you instead of grumbling in the corner over problems your > own policies created and you could easily change?". except maybe a little > nicer. Those who know me well understand I have a bad, bad habit of telling > the blunt version of the truth when I see it . Obviously I want to keep my > highest revenue generating client, and want to keep them happy. At the same > time my tolerance for dealing with idiocy is wearing thin, and quite > frankly, I really don't want to just rip them off by doing projects that > don't address their real problems just to make more money. Advice > gratefully welcomed and sincerely appreciated as I suspect over time I will > run into this again and again.
I'd say "Do you mind if I make some suggestions?" or perhaps a lesser approach is to just ask some questions that might bring things to their light a bit moreso. Something like "I might not understand your product fully, but would it help if you did this (and explain your idea/frustrations professionally there)?" -- Mike Babcock, MCP MB Software Solutions, LLC President, Chief Software Architect http://mbsoftwaresolutions.com http://fabmate.com http://twitter.com/mbabcock16 _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[email protected] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
