The Customer is Always Right
I’d heard that phrase all of my life and had a lot of feelings about it, and then something happened yesterday that made me realize what it actually meant.
The customer isn’t actually always right. They might not even know what the technology does. They could assume that this technology will do everything they want it to when there are obvious limitations to it and they refuse to accept it.
Sure, you could do custom work to satisfy that one customer, and sure, they could pay you a lot for it. But is it worth your time? It only would be if a lot of people are asking for it and it has a daily or multiple time use to it. Only in rare instances would people not ask for a feature and then realize how great it is.
That’s not the point, though. To get back to it, the customer is always right just means two things (definitely more, but these are the two I’ll focus on):
1) If the customer is satisfied with the outcome, stop. You can tell them more and more things or explain to them how it could be better, but just stop. For now. This is a win.
2) The saying also has to do with how functional analysts or creators of tools have too much on their plate as is. You can’t win every battle. You shouldn’t try to either. Let go of your ego. This isn’t about you, and the faster you can accept that, the more you’ll be able to accomplish.