CHAPTER 4WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.

—Isaac Asimov

Consider the following situation: A customer follows up on a request for feedback at a local eatery because his order came out wrong. Somehow the ingredients in his omelet and his wife’s got mixed up. He sends an e-mail to the owner, who wasn’t in the restaurant when they visited, explaining what they ordered and what they received, attaching a copy of the receipt that detailed the order. A short time later, the owner sends a heartfelt apology along with an offer of a gift certificate for the customer’s next visit and inquires, “Was the cashier who took your order male or female? I’ll bet ...

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