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I really needed this right now. Thank you. We had some negative customer feedback come in last night and a contract was canceled because of it. I wish this cus

I really needed this right now. Thank you. We had some negative customer feedback come in last night and a contract was canceled because of it. I wish this customer had responded to my emails asking for feedback over the last three months but they didn't. Now it's over and done with and some of the most damning feedback we've ever received. It breaks my heart, I'm in a low place today. But as you say, business is hard. Being a passive consumer-critic is easy. I will say that once you start a business and get your hands dirty, I think you can never go back. You see how hard it is to make the sausage and you gain a lot of respect for the process, even as you have random anons telling you to commit suicide on Twitter, how the men making a quarter million dollars at Google in SF are so oppressed because their rent is high, etc.

mdp2021 3y ago
> I wish this customer had responded to Are you taking the occasion to reconsider strategy of approach, to get feedback? Sorry, just an aside. Nonetheless, on the known line to translate "failures" into "lessons". -- Update: I must leave the console now, but I hope the sniper passing by posts some argument. Hopefully different from "Insensitive", here where the exact point is (1) treating events as something preventable given some wisdom, to be built, and (2) treating events as something to be analyzed, instead of borne - to neutralize them.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
matwood 3y ago
I'm no expert, but have been around start ups to large companies for a long time in many roles. Business/capitalism is a full contact sport. Getting someone to give you money, whether it's a $1 or $1M dollars is fucking hard. With billions of people in the world, you think it would be easier to find 10k of them to give you $10 - nope. When selling something, the vast vast majority say no. I remember at a prior company we had our biggest customer drop us. Similar situation, we worked with them for months to get usage up, but they ignored/blocked our efforts. Then one day, no renewal. It hurt, it was scary, but the way business works. It also led to a pivot and later acquisition.
moneywoes 3y ago
May I ask if you saw it coming? What were they upset about Can it be rectifyied? Here to help
- safety1st 3y ago
  Thanks so much for this (and thanks to everyone else who responded too). My comment got a bunch of upvotes and it feels good to get this unexpected support. I decided to try and put it out of my mind for a while, it's a Saturday, it's not urgent, I can revisit the issue later when I'm calmer...
theGnuMe 3y ago
I'm going to guess that they got a lower or more competitive bid from another vendor which is why you lost the contract and it is less about you more about them. You know just like dating. If they actually wanted to work with you they would have given continuous feedback since responsiveness to their concerns is usually part of the deal.
jahsome 3y ago
Sorry to hear that. I've been crushed in very similar ways. I'm certain you'll bounce back. In the meantime, remember there's more to life than work, and you have more to offer the world than just the products you produce. Take the opportunity to learn, when the time is right to revisit things. Take some time away if you can. Try not to linger on it. It gets easier with each day. Oh, and get the hell away from Twitter :)

mdp2021 3y ago

> I wish this customer had responded to Are you taking the occasion to reconsider strategy of approach, to get feedback? Sorry, just an aside. Nonetheless, on the known line to translate "failures" into "lessons". -- Update: I must leave the console now, but I hope the sniper passing by posts some argument. Hopefully different from "Insensitive", here where the exact point is (1) treating events as something preventable given some wisdom, to be built, and (2) treating events as something to be analyzed, instead of borne - to neutralize them.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

matwood 3y ago

I'm no expert, but have been around start ups to large companies for a long time in many roles. Business/capitalism is a full contact sport. Getting someone to give you money, whether it's a $1 or $1M dollars is fucking hard. With billions of people in the world, you think it would be easier to find 10k of them to give you $10 - nope. When selling something, the vast vast majority say no. I remember at a prior company we had our biggest customer drop us. Similar situation, we worked with them for months to get usage up, but they ignored/blocked our efforts. Then one day, no renewal. It hurt, it was scary, but the way business works. It also led to a pivot and later acquisition.

moneywoes 3y ago

May I ask if you saw it coming? What were they upset about Can it be rectifyied? Here to help

safety1st 3y ago
Thanks so much for this (and thanks to everyone else who responded too). My comment got a bunch of upvotes and it feels good to get this unexpected support. I decided to try and put it out of my mind for a while, it's a Saturday, it's not urgent, I can revisit the issue later when I'm calmer...

theGnuMe 3y ago

I'm going to guess that they got a lower or more competitive bid from another vendor which is why you lost the contract and it is less about you more about them. You know just like dating. If they actually wanted to work with you they would have given continuous feedback since responsiveness to their concerns is usually part of the deal.

jahsome 3y ago

Sorry to hear that. I've been crushed in very similar ways. I'm certain you'll bounce back. In the meantime, remember there's more to life than work, and you have more to offer the world than just the products you produce. Take the opportunity to learn, when the time is right to revisit things. Take some time away if you can. Try not to linger on it. It gets easier with each day. Oh, and get the hell away from Twitter :)