The story of two baths

A bath is a bath - right?

Wrong.

A bath is a bath when you can lie in it comfortably and have a soak.

The two baths above are a great example of the need to get specifications right.

I'm sure the catalogue calls these both a bath - so if you only asked for a bath then you've got what you asked for.

The difference between these two baths is the one on the left leaves very little skin on your back if you do lie in it (found in a hotel on a recent trip to the US). The grit used to ensure it's non slip seems to have been taken too extreme lengths. The bath on the right however is very much more comfortable (found in a hotel on a recent trip to Sweden).

A great reminder that we need to ask what purpose the goods or services we're purchasing will be put to.

See previous blogs from my travels on communication lessons from the hotel kitchen, getting the specification right for a suitcase and channel hopping stakeholders on a hotel TV.

Alison Smith
Inspiring change inside and out when what you're doing isn't working