I think I practice this - I call it managing expectations. Microsoft does it with their call support, as well, albeit rather more in your face (an email sent shortly after first contract describing what they are going to set my expectations to - And we did not discuss it):<p>"As discussed, I am providing you a copy of our scope agreement for your issue.<p>Issue Definition: Users unable to login to xp workstations intermittently<p>Scope Agreement: Once we make sure that users are able to login to XP workstations the issue would be considered resolved"<p>But I find assisting clients with expectations, positive or negative, has great benefits for long term relationships. They learn that I am not just feeding them a line.<p>I tend to under-promise, and I warn clients when they get too exuberant after small initial success in a larger problem. I consider it Murphy, rather than cynicism/pessimism.