I was recently talking to a CEO of a business I was trying to pitch our services to and he told me a story that was an important lesson to my company’s direction.

The CEO in question is an educated and seasoned businessman who also knows what they want from every endeavor they take part in. The story concerned their dealing with a software startup. The startup that was working on a custom application for the client refused to adhere to the specifications and the final product looked nothing like the expected product.

The moral of this story is that this behavior exists everywhere geographically and in all sorts of software related companies, small or big. Most of the time, we assume that we know what is best for customers instead of listening to customers. Customers wants and needs could be determined through their user experience stories and can be unearthed by asking clear questions or by testing your prototypes on (potential) customers.

This behavior is giving a bad reputation to the software industry as a whole. It feels like the customer care does not apply to the Software Industry since we can compensate with the technical know-how. With the competition high as ever within the industry, a good customer service and professionalism through the dealings with clients is paramount.

Think as if you were working in a clothes shop: would you ask a customer to buy the wrong size? The common sense answer is no. However, for one second, let’s assume that you do ask them and they take it. This would surely solve some of their problems but not all. For example they will be clothed but they will not be as comfortable as if they were in the right size piece of outfit.
It is the same with asking a software client to take a solution that does not solve the entirety of their problem. It might solve some of their problems but not all. And that’s poor customer service.