Some friends and I went yesterday for a couple beers at a local bar we frequent.
I arrived first so decided to get started without them because it was insanely hot and an ice cold beer sounded super refreshing.
On our last visit, we'd been recommended an amazing brew but this time around I couldn't remember anything about it other than it having a rather light appearance and having something like a vanilla sweetness to it.
I asked the bartender what light beers he had that might have a hint of vanilla.
Of the twelve or so beers on tap, he mentioned two wheats. I tried them both. Neither was the one I was thinking of.
I ended up going with a prickly pear wheat.
One of my friends arrived moments later and asked for an Avery White Rascal.
Damnit, that's the one!
Of course, the one tap handle I couldn't see clearly as it was turned at an awkward angle. If I'd read it, I would've recalled it immediately.
But what bothered me is that it's clearly a visually light beer and, though not necessarily vanilla, it is certainly sweet.
Why didn't the bartender mention it?
In this case, I was an idiot that didn't really know what I was talking about. I'm not a beer connoisseur.
As the professional, I would've liked the bartender to read between the lines a little bit to realize that maybe I wasn't necessarily looking for a "vanilla" beer but rather just a sweet one and hey, look at that, we've got this White Rascal!
Too bad...
Though the prickly pear wasn't horrible.
It's this slightly abstract thinking that I have to do a lot for potential clients.
"We want a website with feature one, feature two, and feature three".
In reality, they just want result X and believe features one, two, and three are going to get them there.
Many times they're off the mark.
I'm sure I'm not the only one experiencing this on a regular basis. That's the value we provide as professionals, right?