> If you were a PC software vendor, would your customers expect you to know > all the details of Intel's newest chip? If you were an auto salesman, do > you think it's reasonable to think that they would know all the specifics > of a new line before it was announced? How about a biotech company?
All good examples. As a PC vendor, I can usually tell them there is a new chip coming and when to expect it and about what price.. the same is true for an auto salesman (although, they are more interested in selling the car on the lot).. the rest of the questions are also in answer to what David asked a moment ago.. and are below.. > The only way that you would look like a fool to your customers is by not > handling the situation correctly. > "Hey Mr. Palm Developer, what do you know about the new devices?" > "Well, not much, because they haven't been released yet." > If this type of a dialog bothers you, and makes you think you're being > made a fool of, I think you need to work on saying, "I don't know". (I'm > amazed at how many techie people can't admit they don't know something). Yes, to continue that conversation.. I said "I don't know". When asked again, I had to tell them what Palm told us here on this forum. The new devices are a rumor, and should be treated as such. Since most rumors prove to be false and with a lack of support from Palm, I had to tell the customer that it looked like they (ZDNet) got the story wrong. Now today, Palm "unveils" these new units and has them on store shelves, leaving us to tell our customers.. "we're sorry, Palm has now confirmed the rumors they were denying". The PDA marketplace is so new and some of the clients are so unsure of it that I wouldn't be surprised to see some of them now decide to change to a different platform. Sure, its possibly a bad decision made in the heat of the moment, but clients get worried about this technology.. they are worried that what they are writing today will be incompatible with what is coming out. Is that Palm's fault? Not necessarily. Basically, the problem isn't in telling the client "I don't know". The problem is telling the client "I don't know" and then being told by the client "Well, lets put the project on hold until we find out how this will impact the project." Again, it may be a bad decision, but without support from Palm.. the official words they want to hear.. they make it anyway. It happens.. its happened to me for sillier reasons.. and you don't get paid for hours not worked while the project is on hold... What do I want from Palm? I'd like to see an announcement like today's... only a couple weeks before they actually hit the shelves. Included in today's excellent announcement was information that it would not affect current software. As developers, we knew that would be the case, but those same unsure clients are going to be relieved to hear it from Palm themselves. As for this particular situation, I think Palm handled it badly. When the rumor hit ZDNet, I think Palm should have stepped up within a few days of that story and made the official announcement.. including that the products should be on the shelves today, August 7.. auto manufacturers do it, Intel does it.. why not Palm? -- For information on using the ACCESS Developer Forums, or to unsubscribe, please see http://www.access-company.com/developers/forums/
