Failed The Vibe Check

I work for a software development company. I take calls from clients to run basic tech support, but will also occasionally get feedback from clients as to how to improve the software, as well as develop customised modules for them.

A client is describing what they want from a custom module in a long and rambling way.

Client: “And then we want a button at the bottom to generate a report, but the report is custom to whoever presses it so that—”

Me: “[Client], this all sounds doable, but it’s quite complicated. I suggest you put down in bullet points all these features in an email, and I can go from there. If it’s based on previous modules we’ve designed for you, we should be able to get something testable in a few weeks.”

Client: “What do you mean, a few weeks? Weren’t you coding as I was talking? I heard it’s all vibe coding now! I thought you were making it as I was talking!”

Sigh…