Survey

A telephone survey company phoned me up this morning. The situation and questions were so absurd that it throws doubt on all such telephone surveys. I'm not even sure it was not a hoax. I am not mentioning the name of the (famous) firm or product to deny them the oxygen of publicity. It went something like this:

"Good afternoon, sir. I'm performing a survey for Company X (A well-known cosmetics firm). Would you like to take part in the survey?"
"I'm male."
"Do you have a girlfriend or wife?"
"Yes, but-"
"Has she heard about Company X's new product Y, the best anti-ageing product on the market?"
"How am I meant to know if she has heard of something?."
"Have you seen any Product Y in the bathroom?"
"Look, I doubt I'm the right person to ask-"
"That's fine, sir. Do you know if she uses any inferior products by other firms?"

At which point I hung up. Firstly, it should have been clear to her that, because I am male, it is unlikely that I know everything about my wife's grooming habits. Secondly, it seems to be little more than an advertisement hiding as a survey.

The questions are exceptionally leading. Take "Has she heard about Company X's new product Y, the best anti-ageing product on the market?". If you answer yes or no to this question, then you are also accepting the second clause of the question, that it is the best anti-ageing product on the market. Multiple-clause questions like this are to be avoided in surveys.

I am just waiting for an advertisement that claims: "85% of people surveyed say that Product Y is the best anti-ageing product on the market."

It has to be a hoax. Can a survey firm really be this clueless? Or is the public clueless for going along with it?