One “citizen” feels the pressure
We have a cast of “frequent flier” people who regularly submit Grommet ideas. They matter a lot to us and we pay close attention to their thoughts. One man who previously suggested two successful Grommets, recently had a third idea rejected. We really like this guy’s enthusiasm and his great ideas. However, this third one was for a single-purpose device and we just didn’t see its use justifying its own existence. And we didn’t think it would fly with our audience either. (It was a small portable device to allow you to see Wikipedia information at your fingertips, without a computer. It might have good educational environment uses–just less compelling for the home.)
He was a bit chagrined by the turn down. He recently told me,
I’m now testing out a new product I really like. It’s something in the “green cleaning” device area. But I am being SO much more careful. I hadn’t really given the last idea a thorough vetting. Now I want to be sure this one is worth a serious look before I suggest it. It’s kind of an ego thing.
(I can surely relate. The Discovery Team does not hesitate to reject my weaker ideas too!)
While I sure as heck do not want to discourage this man’s future stream of suggestions, I appreciate his concern for serving up quality products that really deliver on their story. He’s graduating to some kind of “uber” Citizen Commerce participant. I need to come up with a name for THAT kind of person, now.
Jules Pieri 
3 Responses to “One “citizen” feels the pressure”
Commerce Comrades?
Hmmmm…maybe too Cold War.
[…] In our early days I knew we were just “getting by” on most of the functions of the business. We just did not have the staffing or cash to do things right. But I am proud that we always, consistently focussed on the quality of Grommets. I was willing to apologize for late shipments or limited marketing, or slow customer service. But I vowed never to be in the position of apologizing for supporting a poor Grommet. Could we make mistakes? Of course, once in a while. But we never cut corners. […]
[…] In our early days I knew we were just “getting by” on most of the functions of the business. We just did not have the staffing or cash to do things right. But I am proud that we always, consistently focussed on the quality of Grommets. I was willing to apologize for late shipments or limited marketing, or slow customer service. But I vowed never to be in the position of apologizing for supporting a poor Grommet. Could we make mistakes? Of course, once in a while. I even went ahead and apologized in advance for that back possibility in 2010. But we never cut corners. […]