In the Philippines, many houses have both 110 and 220 power outlets, positioned side by side. They are usually marked, but not very clearly, and the technician had not asked which was which. He guessed, and got it wrong. lan was amazed that he hadn’t simply asked him which outlet to use-but a Filipino would rarely ask such a question. lan learned the hard way that in future he must take the initiative and provide the necessary information without being asked.