[mooreds]

> Sounds to me like the customer is trying to solve a problem and is coming to you with their chosen solution. My suggestion: Find out what problem they are trying to solve, and address that.

This.

Problems they might be trying to solve:

   * want to be able to jump on new features as soon as they are released, but need to plan with the eng team
   * want to be "in the know" so not surprised by new features
   * want to be able to give feedback and help direct the roadmap
   * have been bitten by bugs in your software (or other vendors) and want burn in time, especially if you upgrade them without their choosing (as is typical in some SaaS models)

I'm sure there are others, but it's worth asking why they are requesting this if you haven't done so already.

[zippergz]

Honestly some customers I've encountered have asked for stuff like this (and similarly meetings to go over product roadmap) almost as a power play. Either to see if they can get us to do it, or to feel like they have control over our development. If you're small enough and the customer is big enough, you might not have any choice, but I resist it pretty strongly unless it would be financially ruinous to lose the customer (and we have never lost a customer over refusing to do it).

[stronglikedan]

Reminds me of when Disney wanted us to do a considerable amount of unpaid work, simply because they were Disney. We don't do business with Disney any more.

[void_mint]

In retrospect, was it the right move?