One of the tenets of agile is ...

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

... another one is ...

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

But the way I see it, at least when it comes to interaction with the customer, there is a fundamental problem:

How the customer thinks is fundamentally different to how a software engineer thinks

That may be a bit of a generalisation, yes. Arguably, there are business domains where this is not necessarily true---these are few and far between though. In many domains though, the typical customer is:

1. Interested in daily operational concerns--short-range tactics ... not strategy;
2. Only concerned with the immediate solution;
3. Generally one-dimensional, non-abstract thinkers;
4. Primarily interested in "getting the job done" as opposed to coming up with a lasting, quality solution.

On the other hand, software engineers who practice agile are:

1. Professionals who value quality;
2. Individuals who understand the notion of "more haste less speed" i.e., spending a little more time to do things properly will save lots of time down the road;
3. Generally, very experienced analytical thinkers.

So very clearly, there is a natural culture discrepancy that tends to inhibit "customer collaboration".

What's the best way to address this?