Is it Good?

When in a candy store, or a bakery, or even a restaurant, there is a certain way of asking questions that gets better results than others. All the time, I get asked, "Is such and such good?"

Now, that is not an intelligent question to ask. Any clerk will say, "Why yes, it's great!" Even if they honestly think it tastes awful. A clerk will want to promote the product at first talk. A much better question is, "What do you like?" or "What is it like?" This requires the clerk to talk about the product and describe it. In asking in that way, it is much easier to get a feel for how the clerk does feel about the product. It also opens up more dialogue in general. If I get asked what I like in the candy case, I can tell you right away. If I sense you are open to more discussion, I will expand on my first words. But if you ask me if a candy is good, it may not be one of my favorites, and I will still say, "yes."