NockerGeek (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
nockergeek) wrote2004-12-27 03:50 pm
nockergeek) wrote2004-12-27 03:50 pm
(no subject)
Okay, client wants us to add e-commerce to her website. She also has this business listing system that she's currently unhappy with and wants it remade as far as billing goes, so we agree to make a version that integrates with our e-commerce package. We ask her to come in, sit down with us for a couple of hours, and discuss her site and her needs. She refuses, saying she's too busy, and that she just wants what we give our other customers. So, we do the work entailed above, and give it to her to review. I even asked her how she got the listing information after it was submitted, and she said she got it in an email, so I added a confirmation email to the process.
Send to her to review. "Where's the database that these listings go into? I need that." You didn't mention a database until now. Okay, we'll drop them into a database. Do you have an example of the database? "Yes, right here." Okay, that's an entire admin system. We'll need to charge you extra for that. "But I just had it done a few months ago." That's too bad; we're having to recode this from scratch, but we'll mimic your existing database programming.
Send to her to review. "Where did my data go?" Your old data is still in your old database. You didn't mention anything about porting your old database over. That will cost extra, unless you can get your existing provider to get us a copy of the data. "Here's the hosting info." That's wonderful. It doesn't get us the data, though. In fact, after testing, the database is protected by access filters, which means we have to be on the web server to get to it. Unfortunately, your webhost has no shell access, so we'll need to make a custom program to suck down the data. That'll take time. "Why?" Because we have to write that from scratch too, and poke around a foreign database without an admin interface to boot. There are other alternatives, but they'll take as much, if not more, time.
"Also, why isn't this listing process more streamlined?" It's 3 steps. I don't think I can streamline it anymore without sacrificing needed functionality. "I was told you'd make it simpler!" Simpler than what? It's already pretty damn easy. "I was told the e-commerce would be easy." You haven't even reviewed the e-commerce yet, just the listing program. "That is the e-commerce portion." Really? That's not what I was told. Besides, how are you going to sell your other products through that interface?
I'm not sure whether to be amused or annoyed by this, so I'll just pick "boggled" and be done for now.
Send to her to review. "Where's the database that these listings go into? I need that." You didn't mention a database until now. Okay, we'll drop them into a database. Do you have an example of the database? "Yes, right here." Okay, that's an entire admin system. We'll need to charge you extra for that. "But I just had it done a few months ago." That's too bad; we're having to recode this from scratch, but we'll mimic your existing database programming.
Send to her to review. "Where did my data go?" Your old data is still in your old database. You didn't mention anything about porting your old database over. That will cost extra, unless you can get your existing provider to get us a copy of the data. "Here's the hosting info." That's wonderful. It doesn't get us the data, though. In fact, after testing, the database is protected by access filters, which means we have to be on the web server to get to it. Unfortunately, your webhost has no shell access, so we'll need to make a custom program to suck down the data. That'll take time. "Why?" Because we have to write that from scratch too, and poke around a foreign database without an admin interface to boot. There are other alternatives, but they'll take as much, if not more, time.
"Also, why isn't this listing process more streamlined?" It's 3 steps. I don't think I can streamline it anymore without sacrificing needed functionality. "I was told you'd make it simpler!" Simpler than what? It's already pretty damn easy. "I was told the e-commerce would be easy." You haven't even reviewed the e-commerce yet, just the listing program. "That is the e-commerce portion." Really? That's not what I was told. Besides, how are you going to sell your other products through that interface?
I'm not sure whether to be amused or annoyed by this, so I'll just pick "boggled" and be done for now.
no subject
I was discussing the possibility of me doing a website for someone, and she asked me for three designs without giving me *any* information other than that she sold jewelry. I had no clue what type, what sort of client she was selling it to, was it fine jewelry or costume jewelry, etc, not to mention whether she wanted to actually sell through the website or use it as an ad for her store, or whether I needed to be able to set it up for credit-card access, manage her inventory, or what. I fired back a huge list of questions that I needed to know, and she never contacted me again. Which I very glad of, because I expect working for her would probably have been nerve-wracking.