Yes, it is. Because it creates bad assumptions. Now, you'll have a ton of noobs assuming that you do that and that for free because you already did it.
There's a section in Guy Kawasaki's Rules for Revolutionaries which talks about exactly this. Rules is still my go-to text for general business management advice. I'll quote the relevant parts here.
"Get Over the Paranoia: The story may be apocryphal, but Nordstrom supposedly allowed a customer to return an automobile tire that he insisted he bought at the store. Of course, Nordstrom doesn't sell tires.
"The paranoid would ask, ``But what if everyone who owns a car returned tires to Nordstrom? Nordstrom would go broke!'' But people won't (and don't), and Nordstrom will never be in danger of going bankrupt for accepting returns of goods it doesn't sell.
"Managers are afraid to implement customer-pleasing, revolution-catalyzing policies because they are afraid that too many people will take advantage of these policies, and they'll end up with the equivalent of a store full of tires."
The entire section goes on to talk about employee empowerment, allocentralism (putting yourself into your customer's shoes), examples from other businesses that either do this or don't, and so on; the relevant summary part from the text would probably be, "However, if your competition is asking people to do something suboptimal, then it's creating an opportunity for you."
So, straight up: it's certainly possible to run a business the way that you're describing. In fact, I'd guess that that's how most businesses run: they do as little as possible to make their money and meet -- but not exceed -- their customers' expectations. So you're not wrong as far as that goes.
But you are wrong to assume that they'll have "a ton of noobs" if they treat one particular customer really well. And, you're equally wrong to assume that having "a ton of noobs" is a bad problem to have; from another part of the same section of the book: "For example, a Whirlpool employee taped a news program's interview with Gail, a woman with several children and a full-time job. Whirlpool employees were challenged to provide appliances that would ``take care of Gail.'' In response, they redesigned the stovetop of Whirlpool's CleanTop to be completely flat, without grease traps or dirt-collecting crevices, and they created the Quiet Partner dishwasher, so the noise of the dishwasher wouldn't distract Gail. Viewing chores through Gail's eyes has helped Whirlpool introduce significant product enhancements."
Having "a ton of noobs" would mean a ton of new customers that are paying you money to show you what is wrong with your product or service. They are a great resource to have, if you take advantage of them. If you can identify one problem that 35% of "a ton of noobs" all have in common, and if you can automate the solution to that problem (or make it significantly easier to solve), then you have just achieved differentiation in a crowded market.
Yes, it can be painful in the short term. You might have to hire some more help -- and you might have to streamline some of your other internal process, like your ticket system, which will also pay dividends in the future.
Avoiding pathological customers is certainly good advice for freelancers, consultants, and really small shops. However, it is not necessarily the only good business strategy.
"Get Over the Paranoia: The story may be apocryphal, but Nordstrom supposedly allowed a customer to return an automobile tire that he insisted he bought at the store. Of course, Nordstrom doesn't sell tires.
"The paranoid would ask, ``But what if everyone who owns a car returned tires to Nordstrom? Nordstrom would go broke!'' But people won't (and don't), and Nordstrom will never be in danger of going bankrupt for accepting returns of goods it doesn't sell.
"Managers are afraid to implement customer-pleasing, revolution-catalyzing policies because they are afraid that too many people will take advantage of these policies, and they'll end up with the equivalent of a store full of tires."
The entire section goes on to talk about employee empowerment, allocentralism (putting yourself into your customer's shoes), examples from other businesses that either do this or don't, and so on; the relevant summary part from the text would probably be, "However, if your competition is asking people to do something suboptimal, then it's creating an opportunity for you."
So, straight up: it's certainly possible to run a business the way that you're describing. In fact, I'd guess that that's how most businesses run: they do as little as possible to make their money and meet -- but not exceed -- their customers' expectations. So you're not wrong as far as that goes.
But you are wrong to assume that they'll have "a ton of noobs" if they treat one particular customer really well. And, you're equally wrong to assume that having "a ton of noobs" is a bad problem to have; from another part of the same section of the book: "For example, a Whirlpool employee taped a news program's interview with Gail, a woman with several children and a full-time job. Whirlpool employees were challenged to provide appliances that would ``take care of Gail.'' In response, they redesigned the stovetop of Whirlpool's CleanTop to be completely flat, without grease traps or dirt-collecting crevices, and they created the Quiet Partner dishwasher, so the noise of the dishwasher wouldn't distract Gail. Viewing chores through Gail's eyes has helped Whirlpool introduce significant product enhancements."
Having "a ton of noobs" would mean a ton of new customers that are paying you money to show you what is wrong with your product or service. They are a great resource to have, if you take advantage of them. If you can identify one problem that 35% of "a ton of noobs" all have in common, and if you can automate the solution to that problem (or make it significantly easier to solve), then you have just achieved differentiation in a crowded market.
Yes, it can be painful in the short term. You might have to hire some more help -- and you might have to streamline some of your other internal process, like your ticket system, which will also pay dividends in the future.
Avoiding pathological customers is certainly good advice for freelancers, consultants, and really small shops. However, it is not necessarily the only good business strategy.