# Ask the question that prevents the wasted trip

- Category: product
- Author: Andrei Gudiu (https://indie.md/people/andrei-gudiu/)
- Source: https://indie.md/journeys/andrei-acte123/
- Canonical URL: https://indie.md/advice/ask-the-question-that-saves-the-trip/

The Dumbrăvița contract taught Andrei a cheaper product rule than another page of explanation. The town hall stamped a machine translation. The next counter wanted an authorized translation and the English original. The missing question was not "what is a translation." It was "did you already get this stamped," because that answer changes the bag you take tomorrow. Bureaucracy products fail by listing every document in the universe. They work by asking the fork that would have sent you home. If your checklist cannot change after a yes, it is a brochure. Put the expensive mistake, the fourth visit, the rejected copy, into a single required question and let the plan rewrite itself.