The typo that unlocked a virtuous cycle

Last Tuesday, a Harvust customer dropped a polite note into my inbox:

"One more thing, since I'm already sending an email...there's a typo that has been driving me crazy, lol. I hope you don't mind the feedback; overall, we are very happy with Harvust and the ways it has made our lives so much easier! 🙂"

Here's the screenshot she sent me:

She felt almost guilty for pointing out our mistake. I fired back a one‑liner:

"Send all feedback and be as brutal as you can!! Thank you!!"

That invitation did more than fix a misplaced letter. It opened the door to new ideas, feature requests, and edge cases we'd have never discovered. Each of her replies helped us push Harvust closer to the perfect fit for real farm office workflows.

Silence is expensive - for both sides

Not long after, and from a different customer, we accidentally received an email meant for another ag-tech software vendor. This grower was canceling their account with the other ag-tech company because "the product no longer met their needs." Some growers are quieter than others, and this grower was one of those. Then the realization hit hard:

How many other growers wrestle with silent frustrations that never reach us - until they reach a competitor?

Switching HR software isn't fun. It costs money, hours of data migration, staff retraining, and lost momentum. Honest feedback is cheaper for everyone. So I'm writing about why you should be unrelenting in your feedback, and how to do it in a way that gets you results from your ag labor software vendors.

How to give ag tech vendors effective feedback

1. Real‑world priorities, not guesses. Every time you send our support an email with a question or a complaint, that gives our development team more reason to prioritize you and your specific issues over what we "think" might be important to our customers.
2. Hidden patterns emerge. You might not know it, but other growers might be mentioning the same pain point. When that happens, it rockets to the top of our queue! If you ever feel like giving feedback isn't worth the typing, know it could be just what's needed to push a new feature or improvement over the line.
3. Front‑line insight. If you're reading this as a manager and aren't using the software in your day-to-day, ask your staff to send you usability quirks or ideas. Create an environment so they don't feel like it makes them look bad at their job if they complain about an underperforming piece of software. I often find that their voices point us towards a better solution and give us urgency. At Harvust, we ensure everyone on your team has the support email and phone number, and our product team reviews every support message.
4. Be specific. Send screenshots, videos, or whatever else that shows what you'd like to be different. The added context cuts down on the back‑and‑forth and speeds up fixes. Always share your end goal with the vendor so they can see the whole picture.
5. Tell us how you feel. We're humans, and I empathize deeply when I see a customer struggle. Words like "disappointed," "angry," "confused"  are a sure fire way to get my attention and your requests prioritized. ‍
6. Don't worry about being rude. It's not your job to take care of the emotions of your software vendor! Don't soften your feedback! You're not going to damage your relationship with us, and we're not going to give you worse service (and other vendors shouldn't either, stop labeling customers as "problem children"!!).

Hold your farm labor software partners to these expectations

• A promise to listen, not to build everything. No vendor can ship every idea, but the good ones will hear every idea. If they are dismissive, you'll end up resentful as long as you're working with them. But the opposite is also bad; if a tech company is telling you yes on every idea, you are asking to be disappointed.
• Clear communication on priorities. You deserve to know where a request sits in the queue. Timelines are challenging for software companies to give you, but at least ask something like "Where would this feature sit in your backlog?" or "How do you prioritize requests?" to get an idea.
• No surprise invoices for core improvements. Fixing typos or streamlining a workflow many growers share shouldn't cost extra. Be wary of words like "professional services" or "scope expansion"; those signal that you will end up with a bill.

The end goal: Better tools and stronger partnerships

When growers speak up and vendors lean in, everyone wins:

• Faster feature delivery that matches on‑farm and in-office reality.
• Reduced costly software swaps.
• A sense of shared ownership that accelerates future requests and improvements.

Think of Harvust (or any farm labor management platform you use) as a partner in optimizing your ag labor—not just a line item on the budget. The next time you spot a typo, stumble over a workflow, or dream up a feature, hit Send. You'll be surprised how quickly honest feedback becomes tangible improvements for your operations. You have more influence than you think, we want your business!