Why would you want to deal with a curmudgeon?
Of course you'd love to have two highly-gifted programmers working for you. Who wouldn't? But why for goodness sake would you want to deal with a curmudgeon?
It's a good thing, let me tell you! When I sought a new opportunity to put my many years of expertise to use, my sons suggested, "Well, gee, Dad, you're really, really good at grumbling!" So, I took a cue from the political world where nothing is ever good or bad, it's all about how you spin it. This is why you want a curmudgeon to be your project manager:
I hate being nickeled and dimed to death, so we won't do it to you. Ever try to figure out all the itemized charges on your phone bill? Ever refinance a home and get billed extra for their cost of mailing? Why? Is this cost optional or a sudden surprise? The low-ball price offer with hidden extra costs has become a fixture of today's shady business practices. We'll give you a realistic price from Day One that will handle your immediate needs without forcing you to go back to the bank -- unless you decide on enhancements along the way.
We grumble through the little details so you won't have to. Spend a little time actually testing the websites of our competitors and their portfolio clients, and you'll find that a surprisingly large percentage of them have broken links, dead ends or other problems obvious enough to discover with five minutes' effort. That's the basic stuff everyone who calls himself a professional should be doing. We go well beyond that, taking time to look into possible cross-browser compatibility issues and making sure your site is stable, quick to load and easy to navigate, so that readers will want to stay just a little longer to see what you have to say.
I get annoyed when others provide me with half-assed service, so we hold ourselves to a higher standard of quality. It would simply be embarrassing for us to do less! We won't promise you a 3-day turnaround to close the deal and then make you wait 3 weeks. You won't need to talk to seven different people to get an answer. If you discover a minor problem, we try to fix it within 24 hours and usually get to it the same day. If you contact us to ask about possible enhancements, we won't charge you extra for a short discussion of your options. And if you want to add something tomorrow, it'll be compatible with what you have done today, because we're both in this for the longer-term.
It's a good thing, let me tell you! When I sought a new opportunity to put my many years of expertise to use, my sons suggested, "Well, gee, Dad, you're really, really good at grumbling!" So, I took a cue from the political world where nothing is ever good or bad, it's all about how you spin it. This is why you want a curmudgeon to be your project manager:
I hate being nickeled and dimed to death, so we won't do it to you. Ever try to figure out all the itemized charges on your phone bill? Ever refinance a home and get billed extra for their cost of mailing? Why? Is this cost optional or a sudden surprise? The low-ball price offer with hidden extra costs has become a fixture of today's shady business practices. We'll give you a realistic price from Day One that will handle your immediate needs without forcing you to go back to the bank -- unless you decide on enhancements along the way.
We grumble through the little details so you won't have to. Spend a little time actually testing the websites of our competitors and their portfolio clients, and you'll find that a surprisingly large percentage of them have broken links, dead ends or other problems obvious enough to discover with five minutes' effort. That's the basic stuff everyone who calls himself a professional should be doing. We go well beyond that, taking time to look into possible cross-browser compatibility issues and making sure your site is stable, quick to load and easy to navigate, so that readers will want to stay just a little longer to see what you have to say.
I get annoyed when others provide me with half-assed service, so we hold ourselves to a higher standard of quality. It would simply be embarrassing for us to do less! We won't promise you a 3-day turnaround to close the deal and then make you wait 3 weeks. You won't need to talk to seven different people to get an answer. If you discover a minor problem, we try to fix it within 24 hours and usually get to it the same day. If you contact us to ask about possible enhancements, we won't charge you extra for a short discussion of your options. And if you want to add something tomorrow, it'll be compatible with what you have done today, because we're both in this for the longer-term.