A possible product fault, no serial numbers until Tuesday. What would you do?
Waiting for every fact is a decision too. Sort the steps you can undo from the ones you can’t.
The question
At Pellbrook, a fictional online home-goods retailer, you manage the small-appliances range. It is 4:30 p.m. on Friday. A supplier email arrives about electric kettles from batch K-7.
- SupplierTwo reports of switches not turning off in batch K-7. We’ll confirm which serial numbers by Tuesday.
- Quality lead (by phone)Send me the facts and I can review a notice tonight.
- SalesKettles are our top weekend seller. Can this wait until Tuesday?
| Reason | kettles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| In our warehouse | 140 | |
| Sold, out for delivery | 50 | |
| Sold and delivered | 310 | |
| Total | 500 |
Invented data. 360 customers have, or will soon have, a K-7 kettle: 310 delivered plus 50 in transit. Nobody yet knows how many units are affected.
If a supplier reports a possible safety defect, stop selling the affected stock at once. Customer safety notices need the quality lead’s sign-off. Don’t tell customers a product is safe or unsafe until the scope is confirmed.
“At 4:30 on Friday a supplier reports two switch faults in kettle batch K-7 and won’t know which units until Tuesday. What would you do?”
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A strong answer, step by step
Open each step in turn. This is one strong answer, not the only one.
Step 1: Sort what you know from what you don’t
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Assume the whole batch is faulty.
Tempting, but it misses something. The supplier has two reports and no serial numbers yet. Treating a guess as fact leads to claims you may have to take back.
List what I know and don’t: two reports and where all 500 kettles are, but not which units are affected.
The strong move. Naming the unknowns stops you from freezing or pretending, and shows which steps don’t depend on them.
Assume it’s fine: two reports out of 500 is small.
Tempting, but it misses something. Two reports is all anyone knows so far, not a failure rate. The supplier hasn’t said how many units are affected.
See how a strong candidate says it
“I know there are two switch reports and where all 500 kettles are. I don’t know which serial numbers are affected, or how many customers are at risk tonight.”
Why it works: Naming the unknowns stops you from either freezing or pretending.
Step 2: Take the steps you can undo, now
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Take the 140 in the warehouse off sale and ask the carrier to hold the 50 out for delivery.
The strong move. The policy says stop selling at once, and both steps are easy to reverse if the batch is cleared.
Keep selling through the weekend and decide on Tuesday.
Tempting, but it misses something. The policy says stop selling a possibly faulty product at once. A top weekend seller doesn’t change that.
Recall all 500 kettles tonight.
Tempting, but it misses something. A recall reaches 310 delivered kettles and needs a confirmed scope and the quality lead’s sign-off. Start with the steps you can undo.
See how a strong candidate says it
“The policy says stop selling at once, so I’d take the 140 in the warehouse off sale and ask the carrier to hold the 50 out for delivery. If the batch is cleared, both are easy to reverse.”
Why it works: Reversible, low-cost steps don’t need certainty. Waiting until Tuesday is the risky choice.
Step 3: Get the hard call to its owner fast
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Email all 360 customers tonight to stop using the kettle.
Tempting, but it misses something. Customer safety notices need the quality lead’s sign-off, and she can review one tonight. Sending alone skips the check the policy requires.
Leave the quality lead until Tuesday.
Tempting, but it misses something. She can review a notice tonight. Waiting four days leaves 360 customers without a decision on whether to warn them.
Send the quality lead the supplier’s email, the 500-unit breakdown and a draft notice for the 360 customers tonight.
The strong move. The notice needs her sign-off and she is reachable tonight, so escalating is fast. 360 is 310 delivered plus 50 in transit.
See how a strong candidate says it
“Tonight I’d send the quality lead the supplier’s email, the 500-unit breakdown and a draft notice for the 360 customers. I wouldn’t email customers myself, or tell them the kettle is safe.”
Why it works: The notice needs sign-off, and the person who signs is reachable tonight, so escalating is fast, not a delay.
Step 4: Decide when you’ll stop waiting
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Wait for the supplier’s Tuesday answer, however long it takes.
Tempting, but it misses something. Without a deadline, waiting has no end. Asking for Monday and agreeing a fallback keeps the decision moving.
Ask the supplier for serial numbers by Monday and agree with the quality lead when we’d notify customers anyway.
The strong move. Acting under uncertainty includes setting the point where you stop waiting for more facts.
Tell customers the kettle is safe if the weekend passes without new reports.
Tempting, but it misses something. The policy forbids calling it safe until the scope is confirmed, and a quiet weekend isn’t evidence.
See how a strong candidate says it
“I’d ask the supplier for serial numbers by Monday, not Tuesday, and agree with the quality lead when we’d notify customers even without them.”
Why it works: Acting under uncertainty includes setting the point where you stop waiting for more facts.
The answer, in short
- Decision
- Stop selling the 140 kettles and hold the 50 in transit today, and get the quality lead a draft notice for the 360 customers tonight.
- Because
- The policy requires an immediate sales stop for a possible defect, and both steps can be undone. Customer notices need sign-off from someone you can reach tonight.
- What would change it
- Any injury or overheating report means notifying customers at once. Serial numbers that clear most of the batch narrow who is contacted.
Common traps
- Waiting for complete information before doing anything.
- Telling customers the kettle is safe, or dangerous, before the scope is known.
- Sending a safety notice without the required sign-off.
- Letting weekend sales set the safety decision.
Check your answer
- Did I separate what I know from what I don’t?
- Did I act now on the steps that can be undone?
- Did I get the irreversible call to its owner fast?
- Did I set when I’d stop waiting for more facts?
Last reviewed Nov 9, 2026