20260217 Customer Interview 02 Kirk Whitehead

Before the call (2 min) Set the tone right away. Something like "Hey Kirk, thanks for doing this. I'm going to ask you some questions about your experience working with me. There's no wrong answers, I just want to hear how you'd describe things in your own words. Should take about 20 minutes."

Warm up (2 min)

1. How's everything going since we last worked together?

Well, there's two things: the ominous cloud of when we're getting laid off which is ongoing so that hasn't changed. Since you helped me as far as scripting is going I've gotten better. I got the pester test done and the function done and I'm working on other things. So it's gotten much better.

2. If a friend or coworker was going through something similar to what you were dealing with, how would you describe what you were up against?

So okay yeah. hmm. i guess when you're faced with a challenge from a senior technical worker and you're new it's important to find out what exactly you're being tasked with and the steps needed to complete it. My lack of understanding of repos, pipelines, etc that work in tandem and don't work locally. Understanding the whole scope of the task of the problem you're trying to complete is more important than having the skill set to complete it. You gave me a tremendous amount of confidence and clued me in that I was solving a completely different problem than what they wanted me to solve. (He goes into detail about the pester test functionality and explained how he solved it thanks to my help.) So thats the disconnect. It was like yeah, so understanding the scope, nature and the mechanics of your task is key.

3. Before you reached out to me, what had you already tried on your own?

Everything. I had used the old website that old website (stack overflow), examples from Microsoft, AI chatbots, my own research googling. I tried everything but what I found wasn't what he was looking for. That was a big barrier to overcome.

4. What wasn't working about those approaches?

I was trying to solve the problem with a standalone solution that could be modified locally. But what needed to be built was an automated solution, daisy chained and funneled into other components of the pipeline. The whole boilerplate for that repo/pipeline is trigged from this pester test that I was working on. And if it's not there, then nothing kicks off. The biggest thing was the daisy chained solution is a different animal than your standalone local solution. Having it in a repo is different than having it in a repo with automation behind it.

5. What made you decide to actually book a session instead of just keeping at it alone? My familiarity with you and how you solve problems in the past from working with you. Your skillset is different than mine and is more in line with what my company wants me to be: still in DevOps but moving from system engineer to closer to software engineer. And you've been successful in your career and I needed a second opinion. With an independent third-party consultant you don't risk destabilizing the dynamic at work, causing further tension that existed between me and my lead.

6. Was there anything that almost stopped you from reaching out?

No hesitation to reach out to reach out to you. I saw how you saw problems and wrote documentation and I knew you didn't give a shit about hurting my feelings. If I came to you with a problem you would be like "Kirk, cmon what are you doing? Let's start over." or "Your coworkers want to strangle you and I want to strangle you too but here's how we can fix it."

7. What was the most useful thing you got out of our sessions?

Validating that I'm using the AI tools correctly and also realizing that sometimes running into a hiccup is an indication that I need to revisit the fundamentals. Knowing I was on the right track with these tools without any help and finding a path to move forward really helped. Helped building my confidence using the tools.

8. Was there anything you needed that we didn't get to?

No, not at all. When we were done there was homework and it was easy to share progress. I guest the only thing I would've liked is more time because I like your perspective. I liked how you showed me how to find the answers by admitting you didn't know what the answer was and then going through the process of figuring it out in real time. You have decades of experience with this but still are real enough to admit you don't know all the answers and aren't afraid to show how you get to the answer.

9. Anything you're still working through that you wish you had more support on?

Probably Gatlin. I'm probably hoping to have my own template. But it would be so cool if there was a reference for all the Java items needed to get things done. Your get calls when converted need authentication. Here's a foundational template for building a Gatlin test. As opposed to now where you're throwing shit at a wall not really knowing what you're doing when you're changing code and praying that it works when you run it. Wouldn't it be awesome if you had a template with different color codes that say "here's where you authenticate, and it simulates logging in and going to the module" or "here's your local test environment" showing the order of execution. What part runs first? Numbered sections that show the flow.

Pricing (2 min) 10. How did the price feel relative to what you got out of it? Just gut reaction, not looking for a compliment.

I thought it was a fair price because I got what I wanted. It would be different if you sent me an email and charged $200. But you made it interactive with the Teams meeting and it didn't end with the one call, there was continuous feedback afterward. I didn't even blink about the price. I think $100 would be too little based on what you offer.

From an objective perspective from a consumer in the market, when I had to deal with lawyers (thank god i don't have to do that now) but the best one i dealt with gave me 30 minutes free just getting to know me and what i need to see if its even something she could help with. You might offer $200 for technical aspect but then there's the option for a 15 minute "breaking the ice" meeting to gauge the situation first before booking the full session.

11. If you were telling another engineer about what I do, what would you say?

Well I already told other engineer about what you do. You have a very unique, calming way of looking at what seems like an impossible problem and coming up with a solution while bringing up a bunch of concepts I didn't know before and understand now. You have a unique, authentic, calming way of solving problems. It's easy to learn and work with you. It feels like you're on my team. Instead of you being this independent communications consultant you're magically now on my team as the lead. Seamlessly integrates your situation and makes you part of the team in a very authentic way. You are just someone on the team that will work with me to sit down and just get it done. And we did get it done my manager was really happy with what I did after working with you.

Note: I asked if the friction ever resolved between him and his team lead and he said yes because he did what I suggested went to the boss and said it needs to stop. Turns out the lead didn't even know he was making it feel that way and he adjusted the behavior right after. The manager said the lead should've booked a meeting sometime early in the 3 month drama they had but whatever it's all good now.

He said he had an idea for a slogans during the call and riffed a few: Working with Olivia isn't like hiring a cold third-party consultant. Olivia is the one you turn to when there's no one in your organization you can count on. She's the team member that you didn't know you needed. She's not some consultant, she's your team member. He said my site should lead with "I'm not a consultant, I'm your team member. Reach out."

Added after Claude analysis because it's not relevant to the business, just want to remember as a friend: We talked about Battlestar Galactica and he mentioned his favorite scene was the "So Say We All" scene that was apparently improv. He even did a call back to it when we signed off the call, so this is important to him.

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Claude analysis:

This is gold, O.J. Yes it's biased because Kirk knows you, but biased data from real customers is still incredibly useful data. Here's what I'd pull out as the key insights for AWL:

Kirk's language for your problem statement: He didn't describe his problem as "stuck below senior level." He described it as being given a task by a senior technical worker and not understanding the full scope of what was actually being asked. That's a different and more specific framing than what you've been using. Worth sitting with.

Why he chose you over other options: He tried everything first (Stack Overflow, Microsoft docs, AI chatbots, googling). None of it worked because his problem wasn't a knowledge gap, it was a framing gap. He was solving the wrong problem entirely. That's something a chatbot can't catch but a person with experience can spot in minutes.

The trust factor is huge. He said two things that matter a lot: he knew you wouldn't care about hurting his feelings, and he could come to you without risking the dynamic at work. That "safe third party" angle is something you haven't really named in your marketing yet but Kirk basically said it's the reason he hired you instead of asking someone at work.

The pricing insight is actionable. He didn't blink at $200 and said $100 would be too low. But his suggestion about a free 15-minute intro call is smart. It mirrors what worked for the best professional he ever hired (his lawyer). Low barrier to entry, builds trust before money changes hands.

The golden question delivered. "She's not some consultant, she's your team member" is marketing copy written by your customer. That's the line. He even workshopped slogans unprompted because he felt that strongly about it.

For the AWL group, the main insight is: Kirk didn't buy mentorship. He bought a teammate. Someone who would sit down, admit they didn't know the answer either, and figure it out together in real time. That's a fundamentally different value proposition than "I'll teach you what I know." It's "I'll be on your team when you don't have anyone else."

You're right that a stranger will give you a less biased read, and you should absolutely do those interviews too. But Kirk just told you something about how your service actually feels to receive that you couldn't have gotten from a stranger. The stranger will tell you about the problem. Kirk told you about the experience. You need both.