12 reference-call questions vendors don't expect

You are running a reference call for an AI vendor procurement. The reference is the vendor's pick, so they've coached the answers. Your 30 minutes need to surface what the reference customer actually wishes someone had told them before they signed.

CONTEXT
- AI vendor being evaluated: {{vendor}}
- Your use case: {{use_case}}
- Reference customer name + role + tenure on the product: {{reference_context}}
- Your top three concerns going in: {{your_top_concerns}}

OUTPUT
12 numbered questions, calibrated for a 30-minute call. Mix of:
- Open-ended trust-building (first 5 minutes)
- Specific operational questions (middle 15 minutes)
- The "what would you do differently" pivot questions (last 10 minutes)

For each question:
1. The question, written in conversational language (not interview-script stiff).
2. The follow-up if the answer is short or evasive.
3. The "tell" that distinguishes a rehearsed answer from a real one.

Specifically include questions that surface:
- The week the rollout almost died.
- The vendor's worst week of support response.
- What was added to the contract in renewal that wasn't there originally.
- What the team would have done differently in implementation.
- What feature the reference asked for that the vendor never built.
- The honest answer to "would you buy this again knowing what you know now?"

**The three sharpest questions (in order).** Pick the three most diagnostic. Order them so the third one only lands after the first two have built rapport.

**The two questions to ask AFTER the call (via email a few days later).** Some answers come better in writing once the reference has thought about it. Identify them.

VOICE
- Conversational.
- No em-dashes.
- No "leverage," "unlock," "navigate," "robust," "seamless," "cutting-edge."