Small Footprint

From: [redacted] [mailto: [redacted] ] Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 5:PMTo: [redacted] ***Cc: [redacted] Subject: regarding ID [redacted] Dear [redacted] ***,I am in receipt of your letter dated February 16th, with the ID of [redacted] I have never had any interaction with the Revdex.com so I would greatly appreciate your guidance as to how to handle this customer complaintI simply don’t know what I am supposed to do in this situationNonetheless, as you requested please find the below and attached information related to our business with the client.The client was looking for a software solution to better run their businessOne of their core software packages was discontinued and no longer supported by the vendorOur joint thought was that we may be able to build some custom software that would work better and replace some of the 3rd party software they usedWe agreed to conduct a paid discovery with them to assess what would be needed and design and estimate a solution that would fit the client’s budgetThe work we did to identify system requirements, process workflows, etcis attached and was given to the clientWhat we discovered in the process was that the software packages that the client was using were quite powerful, however the client was not using all the capabilities of these packagesAlso, some of the issues they reported were the result of inadequate configuration of the software packages, i.esolvable problemsWe realized that the less expensive and less risky path forward for the client was not to embark on a large software development project, but to consolidate and better utilize the 3rd party software packagesThe detailed recommendations are outlined in the attached documentOur business is building custom software, but if a client’s needs can be met by an existing software package then usually the latter is a better business option for themWe offered to assist the client in executing our recommendations so that we could help them achieve the business results they wantedUnfortunately they did not appear to show interest in our recommendationsTheir business has, by necessity, become very reliant on software technology, and making the right strategic technology decisions is difficult for anyone, but especially for a small companyWe have tried to steer them in what we felt was the right directionBest regards, [redacted] | CEOOffice: ###-###-####Email: r [redacted] ________________________________________ ________________________________________ [redacted] ***

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: the salesperson knew my limited budget.  If custom software could not be built within the budget, as an experienced salesperson, they should have been able to say it will cost approximately 5 times more than your budget.  Their "solution" was to stay with my existing software which is not a solution since my original issues were with my current software.   I feel the sales rep misrepresented their capabilities after multiple discussions of what my needs were.
Regards,
[redacted]

From: [redacted] [mailto:[redacted]] Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2015 5:54 PMTo: [redacted]Cc: [redacted]Subject: regarding ID [redacted]Dear [redacted],I am in receipt of your letter dated February 16th, with the ID of...

[redacted]. I have never had any interaction with the Revdex.com so I would greatly appreciate your guidance as to how to handle this customer complaint. I simply don’t know what I am supposed to do in this situation. Nonetheless, as you requested please find the below and attached information related to our business with the client.The client was looking for a software solution to better run their business. One of their core software packages was discontinued and no longer supported by the vendor. Our joint thought was that we may be able to build some custom software that would work better and replace some of the 3rd party software they used. We agreed to conduct a paid discovery with them to assess what would be needed and design and estimate a solution that would fit the client’s budget. The work we did to identify system requirements, process workflows, etc. is attached and was given to the client. What we discovered in the process was that the software packages that the client was using were quite powerful, however the client was not using all the capabilities of these packages. Also, some of the issues they reported were the result of inadequate configuration of the software packages, i.e. solvable problems. We realized that the less expensive and less risky path forward for the client was not to embark on a large software development project, but to consolidate and better utilize the 3rd party software packages. The detailed recommendations are outlined in the attached document. Our business is building custom software, but if a client’s needs can be met by an existing software package then usually the latter is a better business option for them. We offered to assist the client in executing our recommendations so that we could help them achieve the business results they wanted. Unfortunately they did not appear to show interest in our recommendations. Their business has, by necessity, become very reliant on software technology, and making the right strategic technology decisions is difficult for anyone, but especially for a small company. We have tried to steer them in what we felt was the right direction. Best regards,[redacted] | CEOOffice: ###-###-####Email: r[redacted] ________________________________________   ________________________________________[redacted]

Review: Small Footprint provides custom software. They were referred to me by another vendor to help solve our software issues. During the sales process, I explained we were a small business with a small budget of $100,000. I outlined our overall needs and suggested they partner with us to create a software for our business sector to use for future sales. We would act as a partner to provide references and introductions. They agreed and took $5,000 upfront. At the end of the discovery period, they basically told me I needed to stick with the software that I had or pay them $500,000 to create a custom product. Being a software developer for many years should have given them the insight to know they couldn't achieve what we wanted with our small budget. In my opinion, either the company routinely misleads customers intentionally to get money, or the sales rep is incompetent.Desired Settlement: $5,000

Business

Response:

From: [redacted] [mailto:[redacted]] Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2015 5:54 PMTo: [redacted]Cc: [redacted]Subject: regarding ID [redacted]Dear [redacted],I am in receipt of your letter dated February 16th, with the ID of [redacted]. I have never had any interaction with the Revdex.com so I would greatly appreciate your guidance as to how to handle this customer complaint. I simply don’t know what I am supposed to do in this situation. Nonetheless, as you requested please find the below and attached information related to our business with the client.The client was looking for a software solution to better run their business. One of their core software packages was discontinued and no longer supported by the vendor. Our joint thought was that we may be able to build some custom software that would work better and replace some of the 3rd party software they used. We agreed to conduct a paid discovery with them to assess what would be needed and design and estimate a solution that would fit the client’s budget. The work we did to identify system requirements, process workflows, etc. is attached and was given to the client. What we discovered in the process was that the software packages that the client was using were quite powerful, however the client was not using all the capabilities of these packages. Also, some of the issues they reported were the result of inadequate configuration of the software packages, i.e. solvable problems. We realized that the less expensive and less risky path forward for the client was not to embark on a large software development project, but to consolidate and better utilize the 3rd party software packages. The detailed recommendations are outlined in the attached document. Our business is building custom software, but if a client’s needs can be met by an existing software package then usually the latter is a better business option for them. We offered to assist the client in executing our recommendations so that we could help them achieve the business results they wanted. Unfortunately they did not appear to show interest in our recommendations. Their business has, by necessity, become very reliant on software technology, and making the right strategic technology decisions is difficult for anyone, but especially for a small company. We have tried to steer them in what we felt was the right direction. Best regards,[redacted] | CEOOffice: ###-###-####Email: r[redacted] ________________________________________ ________________________________________[redacted]