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Pay Attention!

I subscribe to Macleans magazine, which is a good way to stay up-to-date on things that are happening offline. In a recent issue (okay, I don’t get around to them in a timely fashion), I found an interesting article about the advent of healthy items on the menus of fast food restaurants. It turns out that for MacDonalds, the addition of these items — such as apple slices as a side instead of fries — has dramatically altered the public image of the company. To such an extent that the company’s stock, after suffering years of decline, is now surging. (Sorry for not linking to the article; they appear to have removed it from their web site)

The funny thing is, the company actually doesn’t sell many apple slices or salads. In fact, sales of those items are so low that, if they were any other item on the menu, they’d be taken off. It just goes to show you that people like to have the option, but would prefer their food fried, thank you very much.

Or would they? See, it just so happens that I have some personal experience with the apple slices in question. Although my family makes a point of not eating at MacDonalds, we have, owing to their ubiquity, been forced to eat there lest we go hungry. On a recent road trip, my wife ordered a side of apple slices for our daughter. It was only after we’d returned to the car and were on the road that we discovered the truth: instead of apple slices, we had fries! Wife had specifically ordered those slices, but the cashier had either not heard, or had been so accustomed to keying in fries that muscle memory took over.

Sure, one isolated incident. But a couple weeks later, it happened again, this time at a much better hamburger establishment. I ordered onion rings, and got fries. Why? No doubt, because everyone gets fries, and muscle memory kicks in where attention wanders.

It makes me wonder just how many people don’t get the things they ask for. In this business, as in fast food, it happens all the time. About half of my current customers (and you know who you are!) are with me because their last agency did a poor job of listening to their needs. Too many agencies like to tell their clients what they want, and to hell with what the client actually needs.

But far more common — and I’m as guilty of this as anyone — is the old misinterpretation trick. Web site development is particularly troubling here because there are so many ways of doing things. A web page can be editable by giving the client a window where they can edit raw HTML code, or it can be editable to providing a “WYSIWYG” interface, where you edit it like a word processing document. The good news is, I consider the former unacceptable, while several clients have expected only that.

But the opposite side of that equation, where I provide something beneath a client’s expectation, is dangerous ground, and it happens from time to time. One thing is clear though: it’s how a business handles being called out on a problem that determines whether they’re worth working with. MacDonalds would instantly take back those mis-ordered fries, as would Starr Burger. Would your web agency (or insurance agent, or lawyer) refactor their work to meet your higher expectations? The successful businesses strive to do just that.

Of course, most problems of this nature are almost entirely mitigated by simply paying attention from the outset.

Next time: The other great danger of this business: protecting yourself from dangerous clients!