I had my heart set on that cushy hour long focus group. The job would have paid a whopping $100. That would have been the highest hourly wage I ever made. The criteria was simple: Own a Hyundai Elantra or any of the other ten cars from their list. I passed that test and was immediately put through to the official phone interview. My interviewer was very excited as I answered each and every question promptly and correctly. She even offered the occasional overly-impressed, "VERY GOOD," like one might say upon discovering their toddler completed a puzzle recommendation for older children. I have to admit, the questions weren’t very difficult. Samples: How old are you? What is your profession? What are your hobbies? Apparently a writer that plays basketball and drives a Hyundai Elantra was exactly what Adler Weiner was looking for. WriterGuy and Adler Weiner seemed to be a match made in heaven. I even made a workplace appropriate joke about Los Angeles and electric cars that resulted in belly laughs on both ends of the telephone.
Then came the final question. My interviewer asked that I take the following and rank them in order of importance when buying a new car:
Price, MPG, User Recommendations, Safety, Quality, Style.
I assumed my answer wouldn't really matter considering how close we had become over the past ten minutes. Still, I might as well take a moment to give Adler Weiner the thoughtful answer they deserved. I ranked them like this:
Quality, Safety, Price, MPG, User Recommendations, Style
Ms. Adler Weiner quickly responded, "Mmmm. I see. Well, you're not right for this but thanks for your time." CLICK.
What?! What did I do? What did I say? What could the right answer have been? I was totally going to put "MPG" before "Price" but I switched it at the last minute. That must have been my error. I was filled with rage and confusion. I had opened up to my interviewer. I told her about myself and my economic status. By ranking what I look for in a car, I told her what I value. I even told her a joke. She strung me along, making me feel like she was genuinely interested in me. Then she hung up with a feeble apology and no explanation. I felt cheap, used and a little dirty.
You know what, even if I knew the correct answer, I wouldn't have changed my ranking. I stand by my belief in quality over style. If Adler Weiner doesn't want my unprofessional opinion for auto industry market research, then they don't deserve it. Ok, that's a lie. I would have changed my answer for $25, nevermind $100. I rue the day you came into my life Adler Weiner! ... whomever you are.
Hmmm... Perhaps the research study was the interview on the phone and you gave them everything they were looking for without them having to fork over the dough? The last questions seems super focus-groupy and less interviewy. And if not, I would argue that they are trying to cherry pick their jury, if you get my drift. They already know what your priorities are, so if they were to, let's say, present a car that has all the style in the world but no safety features, they'd know that your feedback would not be favorable to their results. Bullshit either way.
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