Does anyone else take a malicious delight in screwing up market researches questionnaires?

As the 35th person to go through Passport control at Manchester airport, I was asked:


1. 'Where have you come from?' Since passengers from Zürich were the only ones coming through at the time, I replied 'Zürich'.


2. Where did you start your journey? Sydney, Australia.


3. Today? Istanbul


4. And this is your end destination? No.


5. Where are you flying next? Zürich.


Sorry, but we had been in Australia for two years, live in Switzerland. Dropped off some luggage with freinds in Zürich and flew on to England to visit our family.

Does anyone else take a malicious delight in screwing up market researches questionnaires?
Not that I enjoy toying with these people but often the surveys are so poorly designed that one can't help but answer the inane questions with inane answers.





For example, I don't have a television nor a car and was once surveyed about my car rental practices. All of the first questions were about rental cars for vacations, business trips, etc. whereas I use rental cars on a regular basis for grocery trips, etc.





The second part was about what company's ads I had seen on TV and the surveyor could not get through her head that I had not seen any such ads as I did not watch or own a television.
Reply:I agree... I tend to fudge after a certain amount of time from just the lack of interest.





I had a person call me and ask if I wouldn't mind answering a few questions in regards to retirement in the US. I said sure... she then asked if I had a 401 grand... I lost it and laughed for about 20 minutes straight...
Reply:No
Reply:Great idea - they can be a pain in the neck - especially when they knock on your door.
Reply:I don't play with folk who ask questions for market research purposes. I give general, non-detailed answers, which are truthful. My personal business never gets into it. This way, whoever is trying to find our my personal business is a "lost ball in high weeds." I refuse to be tricked into giving up my business. I wish you well.
Reply:I know I shouldnt %26amp; I always start out well but then I get bored %26amp; tick any box.
Reply:Sometimes I need to off load a session of moans about my holiday/trip but usually I tell the truth and don't mess with their heads.
Reply:Stupid things entertain stupid people, I guess.





Do you enjoy stepping on bugs or setting puppies alight too?
Reply:No.
Reply:When I was doing statistics as I recall there are allowances made in the results for people doing that. The sad thing is that that people are rather predictable.
Reply:yes..
Reply:Love it...when they phone i say Oh please phone back in 1 hour...then same again...and again...
Reply:I work for a market research company and other companies pay BIG money just for us to get your honest opinion. Contrary to what seems to be popular belief, by asking your opinion on said thing and stating I'm not calling to sell you something or do anything of the sort, I'M NOT SELLING ANYTHING.





yes how dare we try and find out what the consumer wants so the companies you purchase from can better serve you.





my god people are so ignorant. if you don't want to share your opinion or don't have the time, simply ******** say so so you don't waste our time or yours. we have this little option in the computer called the "do not wish to be contacted" all we have to do is check that. you can be not contacted by our company ever again or simply for that particular survey. wow simple as that. most companies have that option, so use it instead of being a complete jerk to us on the phone. like you've probably heard, we're all just trying to make a living.
Reply:I used to live in a small village without any mains gas. One day in town I was stopped in the street by a guy in a suit who told me that if I switched my electricity supplier to British Gas they could reduce my electricity bills and would install a new central heating system half price! I said I don't have gas heating and he said they would still do a new installation! So I said if he could do that for me I would gladly change supplier!! I could see the pound signs lighting up in his eyes as we spoke, so we went through the entire form filling process, which took about 20 minutes, he then said he had to ring head office to arrange a convenient time for someone to come and do a survey of my house and see what was needed. Head office told him there was no mains gas supply to my village ............ I knew this already, he was pretty p****d off when I told him this and thanked him for his time and walked away!! lol
Reply:Even though it may be fun, it's not in your best interest. Well-designed, useful market research is used to design and market useful products.





Suppose you and your friends each independently decided to tell market researchers you love wearing M. C. Hammer pants? What if the end result was that next year, these were the only pants you could find? While this is an extreme example, responses to market research determine future product offerings.