How to get customers who love you even when you screw up

That's a good story. By the way, no matter the use of "we" and professional titles, it's not hard to tell which places out there are one-man-shops; I hope there is no shame attached to that in this day and age.

Even though I don't work in a commercial environment, I do recognise the value of forming a semi-symbiotic relationship with a few "good" end users like this story's Tom; if you do that, the worst case scenario is ending up with a product that a few people want, rather than one that nobody wants. In the best case, you end up with a small army of free and enthusiastic beta testers that can really help you along.

But I think the writer missed the real reason customers love you even when you screw up; it's not just honesty, it's being responsive and being seen to work your butt off for them. The honesty part is certainly necessary, but not sufficient.