- Focus groups.
Customers don’t know what they want. If Henry Ford had run focus groups, people would have asked for faster horses.
- People asking me: “Is everything okay?”
Waiters love to ask this, even when it’s obvious whether or not everything is okay; for instance, if my fellow diners have finished their plates, and I still have a full one. Obviously something isn’t okay with my dish; the waiter should address that specifically.
Same thing at work, and at home. We usually can tell when something’s not okay with someone else. Don’t ask the broad, sweeping question. Look and see what’s wrong, and address that issue specifically.
- When I ask someone what they want to do, and they respond, “I don’t know. What do you want to do?”
The old answer a question with a question. Just answer my question, honestly!
- When I go to a retail store, and the salespeople are all texting or talking rather than trying to help me.
- When I am at a lunch meeting or a plain old meeting, and someone takes out their phone and starts checking email or texting. Seriously?!
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