I blame Star Trek for unreasonable client requests
Sometimes clients ask us if we can do something faster than we had originally estimated, or to amend something quickly and for free.
They’re often frustrated if we say that we definitely can’t do it, and I think I know why.
The following scenario (or one like it) will be familiar to most of you:
(The Starship Enterprise…somewhere in deep space, and currently in even deeper trouble)
“Scottie, I need more power…we need to go faster”
“The engines cannae take it Cap’n, I’m giving her all she’s got.”
“I just need a little bit more Scottie, the Klingons are right up our arse…you can do it”
And Scottie invariably does.
Or
“Scottie, how long will it take to repair the Warp drive?”
“It’s looking pretty bad down here Captain, we need 2 days at least. I’ve got de-couple the gravimetric filed displacement manifold, and that’s just for starters.”
“You’ve got 4 hours Scottie…that’s all the time we have before Praxis explodes”
And Scottie does it in 3.
In almost every episode Captain Kirk would ask for ‘more’ and always get it, and people often expect the same.
