Build better products and gracefully handle every scenario. I was always blown away by the attention to details Apple gives to its products compared to others. For eg. Just a video on stress testing water proof behavior of Apple watch
Ask HN: What is something you do for clients that consistently blows them away?
51–60 of 288 posts
Re: Ask HN: What is something you do for clients that consistently blows them away?
#52I never disagree with a client. Even if I internally feel it won't work in reality, I always start my response with "That's an excellent idea you proposed, let me try if it works and get back to you". I come back after a day or two as to why the proposal won't work (if it was a bad idea to begin with) with sufficient data. Client is happy you that you considered his proposal and you've avoided a potential standoff th…
I'm not sure that this blows the client away tbh. I had much more success with being critical but within reason. If a client suggests a feature I do not believe will work or is not worth the time, my approach is to agree that this is technically possible and it will take X amount of time with Y drawbacks (e.g. harder to maintain in the future, manual effort later on). And then I'll tell them my opinion about it from a business perspective. I don't push in any direction and make it clear that if this is what they want, I'll get to work right away.
But then again, I only work with clients who appreciate feedback and don't think of me as a person turning coffee into code ;)
Re: Ask HN: What is something you do for clients that consistently blows them away?
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interesting. We usually say that a good consultant should be senior enough to stand up to the customer and at least be able to inquire the basis for something. And also disagree when the customer is clearly wrong. But your way of doing it clearly removes the initial head-on. One could always reason about things. But to promise to investigate (and then deliver) looks (and is) professional. But I will never say yes whe…
So, to follow the diplomatic approach here: Client: "Encrypt our data using the md5 cipher." Consultant: "I will investigate the feasibility of this." ... two days pass ... Consultant: "I have considered your proposal. I believe we should encrypt your data with SHA-256. md5 is insecure, here's several references. SHA-256 is much more secure and more popular. It is a NIST standard, and just as cheap." Client: (probabl…
Consultant: Oh and you'll never get your data back.
Client: Ok.WHAAAAT?
Re: Ask HN: What is something you do for clients that consistently blows them away?
#54I discuss wit a client about some data they collect using an Excel form. Prototype quickly under one hour a small CRUD app based on Django and set Django Import-Export [0] Get an easier Excel sheet containing data. They're gaga about that. I've won contracts just by showing them that they will get all the data in an Excel sheet. [0]: https://github.com/django-import-export/django-import-export
Sweet move. A lot of stars on Github tells me you are spreading lots of joy to your peers all over.
Re: Ask HN: What is something you do for clients that consistently blows them away?
#55I discuss wit a client about some data they collect using an Excel form. Prototype quickly under one hour a small CRUD app based on Django and set Django Import-Export [0] Get an easier Excel sheet containing data. They're gaga about that. I've won contracts just by showing them that they will get all the data in an Excel sheet. [0]: https://github.com/django-import-export/django-import-export
Sweet move. A lot of stars on Github tells me you are spreading lots of joy to your peers all over.
Re: Ask HN: What is something you do for clients that consistently blows them away?
#56[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: What is something you do for clients that consistently blows them away?
#57[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: What is something you do for clients that consistently blows them away?
#58Consistent updates(mostly daily) on email with screenshots and quick short screencasts. A lot of times a particular feature takes more than a day to complete and be pushed to some server for client to actually see what it looks like. But if I create in progress screenshots and videos from my dev machine it always impresses my clients.
That's brilliant and super easy. I hope a lot of people read your post.
Re: Ask HN: What is something you do for clients that consistently blows them away?
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
Could you elaborate on which various things? Interested to know
Another was version control for bom/assembly processes. They wanted a visual tool for showing the differences. Sort of like a diff tool, but all the files were shown instead of just two at a time. Also, who made the changes.
As an engineer currently migrating decades old paper records to an entry level ERP, this would be an amazing killer feature that would blow my non-engineer co-workers away.
Basic version control on product data without shelling out for a massive overkill PDM/ERP/CAD integration would make me pant with hot joy.
Re: Ask HN: What is something you do for clients that consistently blows them away?
#60Anticipate their emergency procedures, and ship them a binder wrapped with dire warnings should it be removed from the data center. Multiple customers have said this has saved their bacon.
Classic E*Myth strategy. Plus I bet they feel great when it's first delivered to them as well.