I saw this photo the other day at This Is Broken. It’s a walker, with tennis balls on the feet. I had to stop and think, but yep, I’m pretty sure that EVERY SINGLE WALKER I’VE EVER SEEN has had tennis balls on the feet. (Granted, most of them are green, but that’s neither here nor there.)
I have lots of questions (Why tennis balls? Who decided tennis balls would do the job? How in the world did the idea spread to every single walker user in the universe?), but the most important question is the one that apparently hasn’t been asked.
“If the people who use our walkers feel the need to add a tennis balls to make them better (I’m presuming it’s not a fashion statement), why don’t we think about re-designing our walker to better suit the needs of our customers?”
Meanwhile, tennis ball manufacturers the world over are screaming, “NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
As an ardent enthusiast of Seth Godin, I suspect that it’s too late to ask the question anyway. The story has already spread. Thanks to tennis balls, people no longer have a walker foot problem. And if a company did change the design to one that wouldn’t require tennis balls, I bet no one would buy it. Because the walker wouldn’t seem right without the tennis balls. People would probably add tennis balls anyway.
My big point is this: why didn’t the walker manufacturers start asking these questions long ago, before the use of tennis balls on walker legs become more popular than American Idol? Maybe Adultitis is the culprit once again. One of the symptoms of Adultitis is the suppression of curiosity and the unwillingness to ask questions. Somewhere along the line, it seems that people in the walker making business stopped asking questions.
What questions do you need to be asking about your products, your business, your life?
[tags]walkers, tennis balls, curiosity, questions, This Is Broken, Seth Godin, Adultitis[/tags]
Jason,
I loved your blog about tennis balls and walkers….I see it everyday, too! The “walker users” I know (that is LOTS being a physical therapist) say that they have to use the tennis balls because the “walker making people” only include one pair of plastic covers for the bottom of the legs….when the plastic wears down with use, they substitute the tennis balls so that the walker glides easier on the ground. I think the better inventor would have different designs spin off from the tennis balls….dress up your walker like people are dressing up their “crocs” shoes with those little charms! More in the fight against Adultitis!
Hey, thanks for the extra background info, Marci! Good ideas, too!
Any changes to the walker that make it easier to glide over the floor will also make it easier to glide when you don’t want it to glide; like going down a slight incline. The result will be a face plant into the floor as the walker slips out from under the user. I’ve never read the owners manual for either a walker or a can of tennis balls, but I’m guessing that both of them have cautions against the use of tennis balls on walker legs.
I have seen in some sort of geriatric catalog, pseudo tennis balls designed for use on walkers. I don’t remember the price, unfortunately! So maybe some walker-makers are listening and trying to get into that market.