Customer request, dinky vps

[Acalita]

We always try to help our customers with special requests but recently we had one come in for a custom VPS. While it is not all that uncommon for a custom request I have to ask, how many others have had a request for a tiny VPS? And have you had to deal with someone telling you that you should offer it, even if the custom package is not worth the time spent to make it?

 

[handsonhosting]

We routinely have people say that we should offer various different things, but at the end of the day, this is business. If there's not enough demand for it, there's just not enough demand.

We had a client tell us that while we offered a version of software (retail $195, we sell for $100) that this wasn't the one he wanted. The software maker also makes a $495 version, and wanted a discount on that one.

The fact of the matter is that we buy the software in bulk (10 licenses at a time), which is why we can offer a discount. The client stated that we should buy 10 of the larger priced so that he can get the discount and we would surely have more business. In the 12 years offering the software, we have been contacted MAYBE 10 times for the higher priced software.

So while things may make sense to a client, it sometimes is just not good business sense. You offer services to make money, and while pleasing the customer is an essential part of making money, you can't always please everyone.

Personally, I'd stay out of tiny VPS packages - there's usually not much money in it, and usually a lot of headache on your part - but that's just my opinion. Other places *DO* make good money with the tiny VPS plans.

 

[Acalita]

I can count not on my hands, fingers or toes but my thumb how many times we have had this happen. In the past five years we have only to my knowledge had this one person inquire about it. The odd thing is that he is a great customer even though he hates the idea of using a ticketing system for random issues.

We sat down and did the math, it does not add up. We decided to pass on the offer and tried as best as possible to break it down but it was quite silly in my eyes, for what was requested it seemed like he just wanted us to chop down our lowest package by an 1/8th and offer him that.