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Dealing with Customers in Electronics Design

D

D from BC

Jan 1, 1970
0
On Thu, 08 Feb 2007 21:46:24 -0800, John Larkin

[snip]
Of course your client knows less about electronics than you do. That's
the point of their seeking presumably professional help. Knowing more
than them puts obligations on *you*.

John
True..
I think what I'm struggling with is the balance between time/cost and
obligations.
I just want to know what I need to know and no more to complete the
electronics and not get overly involved in the customers app.

D from BC
 
C

colin

Jan 1, 1970
0
Joel Kolstad said:
Absolutely reasonable.


Many professional engineering organizations would consider that sort of
behavior unethical and would probably be willing to testify against you if
one of your clients chose to sue you. :)

IME it seems quite common to put in a very cheap quote and hope to make
money by charging very high rates to make any changes, although this isnt
the same as knowingly producing a product that will be a dissapointment to
the customer without pointing this out.

A good engineer wich can extract the right requirments out of the customer
is worth a lot, someone who has done one just like that is obviously in the
best position.

Colin =^.^=
 
J

John Larkin

Jan 1, 1970
0
On Thu, 08 Feb 2007 21:46:24 -0800, John Larkin

[snip]
Of course your client knows less about electronics than you do. That's
the point of their seeking presumably professional help. Knowing more
than them puts obligations on *you*.

John
True..
I think what I'm struggling with is the balance between time/cost and
obligations.
I just want to know what I need to know and no more to complete the
electronics and not get overly involved in the customers app.

How can you simultaneously want to do a good job, and want to learn as
little as possible about your customer's application?

I find most of my customer's applications interesting enough that I'd
research them just for fun. And when I get to see stadium-sized lasers
or jet engines or pollen on a bee's leg, that's a bonus.

If you're going to spend a week or a month designing a product for a
customer, surely it's worth some hours to really understand the
process. You can bill him for that time, too. And sometimes a "systems
thinker" from outside can make a seriously useful observation,
something that they'd missed for years.

I guess you can define your mission either as "design exactly what
they say to" or "solve the problem that they have."

John
 
P

p1dRobert

Jan 1, 1970
0
Once I've profiled my customer as "problematic", I immediately start
charging for time to clarify the design request.
(Block diagrams, flow chart whatever..)
Or.......
Sometimes I'll give a customer exactly what they describe. I don't ask
for the purpose nor do I fit the electronics to the app.
When the customer realizes that they goofed by not giving the designer
not enough information, I make more money $$$ by charging for design
changes...
So.... foolish customers with $$$ = profit... :)
So I like everybody...the smart customers and the foolish ones. :)

Is this sneaky?
Is it a 'give'm what they want no hassles' approach?
Does this help when customers want to keep the app private?
Is this risky for reputation damage?..
A happy customer gets a PCB that does the job.
Whereas, a clueless customer getting exactly what asked for and later
it's discovered that it's not enough and the designer looks bad.
D from BC

The problem with society today is that its too materialistic. Too much
short term money grabbing without considering the long term cost of
our actions. The rapidly deteriorating environment is a prime example.
The hidden costs we don't immediately notice that follows our actions.

In your case you've got customers walking away unhappy, who will
probably never come back. A good design firm can tell if the client is
suggesting the wrong path, or asking for silly specs, and will usually
advise the client accordingly.
Every client is a different situation. Some are a pain, but may have
an interesting product with manufacturing potential. I often throw in
free hardware and software design if the potential for a product is
there. Occassional I reject projects because they're not interesting
enough. Lifes too short people and we need to start looking at the big
picture for a change.

Regards
Robert
( http://www.priority1design.com.au )
 
D

D from BC

Jan 1, 1970
0
The problem with society today is that its too materialistic. Too much
short term money grabbing without considering the long term cost of
our actions. The rapidly deteriorating environment is a prime example.
The hidden costs we don't immediately notice that follows our actions.

In your case you've got customers walking away unhappy, who will
probably never come back. A good design firm can tell if the client is
suggesting the wrong path, or asking for silly specs, and will usually
advise the client accordingly.
Every client is a different situation. Some are a pain, but may have
an interesting product with manufacturing potential. I often throw in
free hardware and software design if the potential for a product is
there. Occassional I reject projects because they're not interesting
enough. Lifes too short people and we need to start looking at the big
picture for a change.

Regards
Robert
( http://www.priority1design.com.au )

It's good to be selective to raise that quality of life..
The way I reject boring projects is by bidding very high.

Customer: What!! $1000.00 for beeper circuit!!!
Designer: Yeah...It's boring.. It only gets exciting if I get ooodles
of cash...
:)
D from BC
 
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