Be brave enough to do the right thing.

I visited a woman today that has a poorly performing home automation system. She just put it in two months ago and it has never worked right. The music stops playing unexpectedly, the TVs turn off by themselves and who knows what else. The fellow that put it in had been back a dozen times and still couldn’t' fix it. Finally in disgust the client called another dealer (me) to take a look.

Well I found some issues that I will fix next week but the most glaring issue is that the prior dealer didn't design the system with enough power to care for its assigned tasks. Why? Surely he would have made more money if had sold a more powerful system. While I don't know the fellow and it could have been mere incompetence, I suspect that he may have been trying to be budget conscious. If that’s the case, I find his empathy for the client's budget laudable but in the end he did himself, the client (and the builder that brought them together) a disservice as everyone is unhappy. Now, because much of the system has to be rebuilt, it will cost more than a properly designed system would have cost in the first place. (And that’s not even counting everyone’s aggravation and loss of good will).

The moral? Do it right the first time. Stand up for a quality product that will delight your client and preserve your reputation. If the client simply can't afford the quality necessary to create a satisfactory experience - DON'T DO IT.

Selling no product at all is infinitely better for all concerned than selling a bad product.

Cheers,
John