Why building what users ask for can secretly ruin your core product

Early on, I thought customer support requests were basically my product roadmap. Whenever a few users asked for a custom toggle or a specific export option, I’d rush to build it thinking it would boost retention.

Fast forward a few months, and the UI felt bloated, new users were confused, and nobody was even using those extra features we spent weeks coding. It turned out the initial request was just a surface-level fix for a deeper problem they couldn't clearly explain. Now, before adding anything new, I force myself to ask "why" three times until we find the actual gap.

For those managing an active user base, what's your personal rule of thumb for deciding if a request is a real product gap or just a one-off request from a noisy user?