The next time you're tempted to vilify a particularly obnoxious customer or agency or search engine, realize that this failed interaction is the best thing that's happened to you all day long. Without them, you'd be easily replaceable.
...The reason we're here is to solve the hard problems.
...The reason we're here is to solve the hard problems.
Such a great comment! In fact, it reminds me of an event on last night's Project Runway -- ps...don't ask or even make fun; no comment or retort will top the fact that I just wrote that last clause -- anyway...so on this show last night, there's a "consultant" (a.k.a. designer) working with his client. Basically, he thought she was disproportionately-sized, unattractive, unreasonable, fill-in-your-negative-adjective, etc. and didn't feel the need to properly communicate with her.
When he was interviewed in a vignette, he rationalized (as many of us do) that he didn't need to communicate with this "customer". He didn't design for "this type" of woman and if he were booted from the show because he didn't design a good "product" (a.k.a. outfit) for this woman, that would be "fine". (Read: at least he fought the good fight...what a martyr!)
The problem with this mentality harkens to exactly what Seth explains further in his post: if everything were easy and we were solving problems for replicas of ourselves, we would all be out of work. The very reason we all have jobs is that we can learn to communicate on a real level with other people and design solutions for their complicated problems. It's the same reason that our friends are able to give us "easy & straightforward" relationship advice, when we can't even see what's going on.
So next time you have an issue with a customer, client, or whomever, remember that THAT's why you're talking to them in the first place. If it was easy, they'd have figured it out a long time ago. Besides, if you weren't around, the customer would just be left with an ordinary & simple solution -- you're the innovators.
