Jake Worth

• debugging
• cx

Me: Hey, I’m experiencing an issue with your software. Here’s a detailed bug report.
SaaS CTO: What you’re describing isn’t possible.
Narrator: It was possible.

〰〰〰

This is a frustrating and wasteful interaction I’ve had a few times in my career. What can we learn? Treat bug reports like gold. When you get one, listen.

For every person who takes the time to fill out your support form, there are many who just gave up, found a hacky workaround, and possibly abandoned your product. You might not like how the message was delivered, but you are still lucky they spoke up. It costs that person nothing to move on.

When I find a potential bug with a software product, I learned from Steve Klabnik to always open a ticket, even when abandoning the product. We get so much for free in this industry and opening a ticket takes minutes. We’ve all been on the other side, building something and wondering if anybody cares. Or deeply stuck, and so grateful to find a ticket that describes our situation and possibly even a path forward.

It doesn’t matter if the reporter isn’t a paying customer. They may be reporting a bug that paying customers are experiencing.

Bug reports are gold. When you get one, listen.

What are your thoughts on bug reports from customers? Let me know!