I have learned in business that if people hate you, they won’t do good work for you. Many will just stop work all together. People lose their tempers all the time. Americans are far less patient than people in India — just for your knowledge. When we screen outsourcing companies, we ask them a bunch of questions to learn how they think. But, maybe we should ask a few questions to test their patience as well. In real life, in a business relationship, there will be situations where you have to go over nit-picky details to straighten out an ugly situation. If they don’t have patience, learn this up front.
But, what questions could you ask people that will annoy them?
I asked an IT outsourcing company details about their corporate status. They became furious and said they didn’t want to work with me anymore. I asked a programming outsourcing firm about their birth data so I could do an astrological chart to prove compatibility. They flat rejected my question.
Honestly, if you want to have a happy family, you should find out BEFORE the wedding if you are compatible, and an astrological chart can help identify areas of incompatibility — although it still is rather wishy-washy at best. A chart is better than nothing.
I ask people how they would fit a giraffe in a refrigerator.
I ask people what they would do if they won a million dollars.
The point is that if you keep asking questions to the point where it is ridiculous, you can test their patience.
“Are you testing my patience?”
“Yes, that is exactly what I am doing — as a matter of policy. If I don’t know where you break, then it is not safe to enter a work relationship with you”
Err on the side of safety when hiring companies or individuals. A single bad choice can cost you thousands, while shopping around only costs hundreds! You need to shop around anyway, so shop smart in addition to shopping hard.