Comment by zkmon

Comment by zkmon 3 hours ago

5 replies

Not for me. Exccessive customer obsession puts me off as customer. Don't try to read too much into me. Don't try to sell too much. Don't try to please me too much. Don't think about me too much.

Instead, think about the stuff you are offering. Treat it as if you are building it for yourself, and not for selling. Build it the way your like most. Sound as if you don't care about selling. Be proud of it. Get off of the sales pitch and pleasing talk.

Stay equal with your customer regarding who should please whom. It's an exchange of value between equals. No need of one pleasing the other too much. Customer need not have the upper hand. They should be just as desperate to buy, as you are for selling.

If selling is seen as a win for the seller, then it should always be a loss for the buyer, which is not true. Once you stop seeing it as win, you will stop this overreaction.

nickelcitymario 2 hours ago

I feel like I'd agree with your comment if it was in reply to an entirely different article.

As in: I agree with your sentiment and ideas. Out of context, you're bang on correct.

But I don't think paying attention to details (like pluralization) is an indication of obsession with the customer, at least not for me. It's about caring about the craft.

When I'm building something for my own use, I care about every aspect of it. I care about the unseen parts. I care about the process. It brings me satisfaction. And when I'm buying something, I like to know that the person who made it cared as much about their craft as I do.

I don't consider than pandering. It's respect: Respect for the craft, for the craftsperson, and for the end recipient/customer.

But maybe I missed something. What was it about the original post that felt like excessive customer obsession? Genuinely curious and open to being mistaken here.

  • ctxc 3 minutes ago

    "When I'm building something for my own use, I care about every aspect of it. I care about the unseen parts. I care about the process. It brings me satisfaction. And when I'm buying something, I like to know that the person who made it cared as much about their craft as I do.

    I don't consider than pandering. It's respect: Respect for the craft, for the craftsperson, and for the end recipient/customer."

    This was my intention. Thank you!

  • zkmon 2 hours ago

    Sorry if my comment sounded out of context, but it is a very thin veil between craftmanship and salesmanship. Everything that you do to get the sale can also be seen as craftsmanship. The difference is about who is the user? Any feature that you put out just for the sake of pleasing someone should be an anti pattern. If your post is aligned with this, then I stand corrected

    Btw, passion displayed in your post is great, but sometimes, it could mean excess for you and your team.

robofanatic 2 hours ago

> Instead, think about the stuff you are offering.

This is exactly what the author is doing. Paying attention to detail. Not upselling you anything. He is not getting any direct ROI for doing that.

I recently hired a contractor to clean ducts in my house. He was really nice guy, while his partner was working, he chatted with me about how their carpet cleaning service could make my carpets look like new, and even pointed out a few spots in the kitchen where grout cleaning might help. He was a great salesperson and very personable but when they finished the duct cleaning, they left a bit of debris behind. It wasn’t a big deal, but was enough to make me forget all the upselling he did before. Just goes to show that a little attention to detail can make a big difference. Next time I might shop around or may hire them again only if they give me a much better price.

BrtByte 2 hours ago

Still, I think the original article was less about salesmanship and more about craftsmanship