by Ken Vincent, Featured Contributor
If not, then don’t ask kids for their opinions.
Most adults, if they have a problem, or a suggestion to make, will try to do so without drawing a great deal of attention. (Of course there is the occasional one that goes out of his way to make a scene, but that is not the norm.) In fact more often than not the adult will try to sugar coat the issue a bit. When the service is sluggish the adult customer will quietly say something like, “I know you are really busy tonight, but our service was pretty bad.”
Children will almost always tell you exactly what they think. No sugar coating, no effort to give you the bad news with a spoon of honey. No thought at sparing your feelings. More often than not they have no problem sharing their thoughts with anyone within earshot either.
Comments that I have heard kids make when asked their opinion, and sometimes when they aren’t.
How was your mac and cheese young man? “I like what mom makes out of that blue box better. This stuff is gooey and sticks to my spoon.”
How was your slice of free birthday cake miss? “Really bad. Mom says you have been keeping it in the freezer.”
At the hardware store a young man said to the cashier: “Why don’t you put the pool salt with the other pool stuff? We had to look all over the store for it. Dad, can we go home now so I can ride my bike? We’ve wasted enough time in this stupid store.”
To the hotel manager in a busy lobby when he asked a young lady how she like her room. “Okay I guess but somebody left their sock under my bed and that guy that brought our suitcases up was sweaty and smelled really bad.”
Can you handle the unvarnished truth about your business? What have kids told you about it or are you afraid to ask?
