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Navigating Customer Expectations - Is the Customer Always Right?



We’ve all been there: a customer insists they know exactly what they want…until they see it. Meanwhile, you’re juggling urgency, vague asks, and a silent clock. The reality? Big logos don’t mean tight processes. Often the mess is upstream, and you’re the one downstream trying to make it drinkable.


It isn’t usually their “process” on the rails that fails—it’s the communication process between you and them. Misdiagnosed needs, positional power (“the customer is always right”), and tech hype (hello, GenAI-everything) combine into a clarity tax you end up paying.


Familiar Signs You’re Dealing with Their Process Debt

  • Vague orders: “We need X ASAP”—but X shifts each meeting.

  • Faster-horse requests: They describe symptoms, not the source.

  • Format whiplash: You deliver a gorgeous deck; they wanted a simple grid.

  • Perfection traps: Your 110% gets nitpicked, but a rough cut would’ve aligned faster.

  • Sales promise drift: Commitments made just a hair outside what exists.


A Practical Playbook

  1. Stay curious, not combative.“Happy to help—what problem are we eliminating for whom, and how will we know it worked?”

  2. Offer the chef’s recommendation. Don’t just ask “how do you want it?” Prime with a best-practice default:“We typically deliver a 1-page spec + sample data first; chef recommends ‘medium-rare’.”

  3. Ship an early, ugly draft on purpose . Share a first cut quickly. Invite markup. You de-risk the big swing and surface hidden constraints.

  4. Time-box to protect quality.“We’ll spend 90 minutes to produce a draft by EOD; further polish after you react.”This preserves momentum and expectations.

  5. Translate symptoms to sources. Mirror their language, then reframe:“Sounds like the pain is slow approvals; the source may be unclear ownership. Let’s test that.”

  6. Pre-negotiate format & fidelity. Ask: “Slide, sheet, or screenshot?” and “Prototype or polished?” You’ll save hours (and nerves).

  7. Use permissioned pushback.“If I build exactly what you asked, I believe it will miss goal A. May I propose an alternative?”

  8. Capture decisions in 5 lines.Who/What/Why/When/Success. Send it back. Make alignment visible and shareable.


Helpful Scripts (Steal These)

  • Scope Gate: “Before I start, can I confirm the success sentence we’ll celebrate next Friday?”

  • Draft Safety: “I’m sending a C-level draft so we can make it an A together.”

  • Expectation Reset: “Urgent is noted; clarity beats speed. Here’s the 2-step to get both.”


Mindset Shifts That Reduce Stress

  • Your C- work can be their A+ if it’s early, aligned, and iterative.

  • “Customer is always right” ≠ “customer’s first phrasing is accurate.” Treat it as best-effort language, not a final spec.

  • Fix one communication seam today (handoff, format, success metric). Small wins compound.


Fix-It Friday Nudge

Pick one active client and send a chef’s recommendation message plus a one-page draft outline. You’ll convert uncertainty into collaboration in a single move.


Process Debt Truth: Most “customer chaos” is mislabelled—what hurts is the communication layer, not the capability layer.

 
 
 

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