There is an old Chinese benediction which goes ‘May you be so fortunate as to live in
uninteresting times.’ The idea of it is, one supposes, that the even tenor of life should never
be upset by the arrival of the unexpected. There must be no surprises. It is a not
inappropriate tenet of faith for anyone engaged in the supply of goods or services of
specified quality – never disturb the equanimity of the customer by surprising him, especiallyby making a delivery of substandard output. This is not to confuse ‘uninteresting’ with
‘boring’. There is no boredom to be found in consistently delivering high-quality product,
but ‘interest’ – even shock – is generated by the delivery of the rejectable. Like the consumer
who disposes of the empty can with utter disinterest (she would only find it of interest if it
had failed in its purpose), the consumer has no wish to find your product ‘interesting’
because it is contaminated with troublesome duds. After all, what is it that you are really
selling?