How to reduce mismatched expectations

摘要

Aw, jeez, I thought you meant__" These words strike terror in the hearts of contractors because they are always followed by bad news. These words mean you expected one thing and someone else expected something different. And that usually means headaches, expense and delay. Mismatched expectations are caused by information gaps. If you tell someone to make coffee and don't specify decaf, they'll have to choose regular or decaf. Half the time they'll decide on the one you didn't want because there was a gap in your instructions. No big deal with coffee, but a very big deal if you didn't specify builder's grade fixtures or a 6-in. vs. 8-in. slab. Then it's either a disagreement with the customer or eating the difference. Neither is good.