I recently stayed at a bed-and-breakfast in Colorado that had the following survey sitting on the dresser. The soap in the place was from a local, “green” soap company.
The text of the survey:
_________________________________________________________
Love it? Hate it? Leave us your feedback!
- Was your bar of soap an appropriate size for one night’s say?
Yes/ No Comments ______________________
- How pleasing was the strength of scent of [Name of ] Soap?
Too Faint 2 3 4 Just Right 6 7 8 9 Too Strong
- How well did [Name of] Soap lather?
Not at all 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Wonderfully
- Did you conserve water by showering with a friend?
Yes/No
- How important was the quality of your soap to your overall stay?
Not at all 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Imperative
- How did [Name of] Soap compare to other experiences with Hotel soaps?
Worse 2 3 4 Same 6 7 8 9 Best Hotel Soap Ever!
________________________________________________________
Setting aside the problematic nature of a ten-point scale where “worse” is four vacuous points below “same”, my cousin notes that probably anyone’s answers to the last two questions could have a lot to do with how he answered the fourth question.
Wow, what a survey! (I feel inadequately listened to—they haven’t asked me yet what I thought about the color of the soap, the shape of the soap, the pH of the soap…)
First businesses started exhorting us to be “green”—I can only assume that it was a net positive for them to start being downright bossy to their customers about that, whereas customers would take enormous umbrage (and take their business elsewhere) at the slightest hint that some corporation presumed to tell them what to do in, say, upholding sexual morality. I don’t want to say that this takes it to the next level and positively encourages sexual immorality, but…