When customers are unreasonable
Added By Tony Byrne at 27-May-2009 | Twitter: @TonyByrne |
At CMS Watch, we're advocates only for you, the technology customer. But sometimes the customer is unreasonable. In my experience, "bad" customers most typically cause problems around schedules and scope, more so than cheap-skating the vendor.
Nonetheless, this video nicely captures how customers can go too far demanding more value than what they're willing to pay. It's funny. (Hat-tip to Jennifer Mayne Hoppe and Heidi Strom Moon.)
But let's talk about the world of software and implementation services -- which alas is not like ordering dinner, or buying a DVD, or getting your haircut.
If this clever video was about the real world of software sales, then...
- There would be no prices on the restaurant menu
- The DVD cover price would include the box only ("Oh, so you wanted the disk, too?")
- Highlights could only be acquired as part of a larger "make-over suite" of bundled services
Our research is designed to help you save money, and part of what we explain to you is how to negotiate a better deal. At the end of the day, though, your suppliers are in business too, so the best relationships engender transparency -- but also allow for both parties to profit.
Categories: Tony Byrne, , Collaboration & Community Software, Component Content Management, Digital Asset Management, E-mail Archiving and Management, Enterprise Content Management, Enterprise Portals, Evaluating SharePoint, Search and Information Access, Web Analytics, Web Content Management, Implementation, Marketplace at Large, Selecting Technology
