Appraisal or Prevention! What's better?

In-process inspection inside a company is typically a 'cost of appraisal' for the company. 

Is the same true for a supplier, for her 'visit to customer for in-process inspection while installing the supplies' at customer's end as a part of the supplier's process!?

It's True, the said installation being a part of the process of the supplier company. 

It's, however, a 'cost of external failure' for the supplier if installation is customer's responsibility and she finds a defect/error in supplies while doing so. Otherwise, it's the 'cost of prevention' for the customer. 

In either of the cases, be it appraisal or prevention, it is a COGQ (cost of good quality) anyway as a part of the COQ (cost of quality)!

One may have to strike a balance though, while deciding upon spending on the latter, meaning on the visit to customer as a part of the process itself, especially in case of high-impact high-value industrial products. 

In any case, the COGQ in general and the other 'costs of prevention' in-house, in particular, may prove to be most beneficial and highly profitable at that.

Why not try validating this statement by calculating the components of Cost of  Quality, for a failed item that reached your customers in past!

Calculating the Cost of Quality (both the COPQ & COGQ), classifying the corresponding components as Tangible (Visible) Costs & Hidden Costs, and comparing them might help.

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

Do You Force Customers To Quit
In-a-problem ? No-problem! Dwell-a-while!
Customer or Custo-Mer ?  
Experienced A Delightful Payment ! 
An Experience of Heart-and-Soul 
Do you keep curing your brand ?  
A customer gets what s/he deserves: Shoddy Quality!  
Listen to iceberg of VOC to acquire customers 
Less With More And More Gets Sore 
Should one care for value ?  
Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation
Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture 
Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice?  
The Business Of Businesses 
That's how some business partnerships work 
Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !! 
Strategise To Achieve Targets Daily 
Does recognition really matter 
That's How Morons Work
Simplicity Of Theory Of Relativity

India won! But Indians lost!

Time to celebrate for Indian cricket team!

The team had completed a mission!!

India had won the 20:20 international series 2-1 against England!!!

The team had completed their tasks over-over-the-over, over-on-over I mean!

Forgetting their own assigned duties and tasks over-on-over, the restaurant staff however in a star hotel seemed to have got distracted by the over-on-over excellent performance of the Indian cricket team.

Most of them gathered around the TV watching the prize ceremony instead of being around customers, except a trainee female staff alone catering to a couple of tables.

Indifference of the manager and staff was strikingly noticeable especially when it was an a-la-carte day instead of a buffet dinner.

Couldn't they've been a little proactive each by a smiling eye-contact with customers! Hardly a  couple of tables were occupied though!

Looking at the TV screen following in the footsteps of her leader seniors, even the trainee staff was found to be filling water in the glass or picking up yet-to-be-finished plate without the consent of the customer! A Waste!!

Can you imagine the Cost-Of-Poor-Quality (COPQ) or rather the Cost-Of-Poor-Service (COPS) of such behaviour in the industry such as Hospitality where the behaviour itself is more important along with the hard quality of course!

Staff busy watching match

Customer fetching her own batch

No one around to catch

That's my Haiku poem dedicated to such Lose-Win behaviour where Indians lost while India won!

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

Do You Force Customers To Quit
In-a-problem ? No-problem! Dwell-a-while!
Customer or Custo-Mer ?  
Experienced A Delightful Payment ! 
An Experience of Heart-and-Soul 
Do you keep curing your brand ?  
A customer gets what s/he deserves: Shoddy Quality!  
Listen to iceberg of VOC to acquire customers 
Less With More And More Gets Sore 
Should one care for value ?  
Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation
Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture 
Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice?  
The Business Of Businesses 
That's how some business partnerships work 
Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !! 
Strategise To Achieve Targets Daily 
Does recognition really matter 
That's How Morons Work
Simplicity Of Theory Of Relativity

Don't Oversell!

Do you know that the automobile dealers earn more by servicing your car than selling it to you?

That's true!

Not only do they earn on labor charges but they also earn double the margin on selling spares that too recurring than selling the car that's one time.

That's why they keep proper record of your last servicing and remind you without fail to get your car serviced.

Last time when I went to repair a dent on my car, the service station promptly told me that the car was not serviced for last two years. That I'd not changed the engine oil nor the brake oil.

I told him that resort to condition based maintenance (CBM) rather than time based maintenance (TBM).

As a TPM (total productive maintenance) practitioner, I knew how to check the condition of the oils rather than blindly change it just for the sake of it based on time or the kilometres run. This is especially true if your car is yet to run the kilometres specified by the manufacturer.

The other day, I got a call from the refrigerator company reminding me to renew the service contract that was going to expire at the end of the month.

I called him for the last service of the previous contract in force since it wasn't cooling adequately. A worker-turned service mechanic arrived. He quickly trained me and my wife on how to optimise the settings: The rotary temperature switch, the diffusers near every shelf as well as inside the deep freezer, etc.

When I told him about my reluctance to change the gasket as told by the earlier mechanic, he demonstrated to me that there wasn't any leakage at all.

In fact he showed that the gasket was a magnetic one: a typical mistake proof (Poka-Yoke) design.

The younger service mechanic who had suggested replacement (saying "बदल डालो") was an employee of the outsourced service contractor. Typically they earn more on spare parts as I said earlier in case of an automobile.

In quality parlance, we call this as overselling!

The worker-turned service mechanic of the manufacturer didn't oversell!

I was impressed, offered some juice to the guy!
No doubt that I renewed the contract at once!
Became the Brand ambassador!

Brand image is built like this!

So next time, you think of servicing, remember this blogpost.

You may lose in the short run if you don't oversell!

But, customer will keep coming back to you!!

You'll win in the long run!!!

How often do you hear VOC

Given an opportunity, which air-conditioner would you buy: split or window?

Would you buy 'split' at the price point of the 'window' unit?

Of course, I would go for 'split' at the price point of the 'window' unit. Less noise at lesser price! 

But I've not done so yet.
Not because the split unit is not available at the price point of the window unit but because I've been on a search for a split air-conditioner of which the diffuser is small enough to fit into the opening for a window air-conditioner. I am yet to be delighted on such an offering.

Like in most houses provision for a window unit is a given. 

Same isn't the case for a split unit which actually needs a smaller hole, much smaller than one for the window unit. Is it a design-flaw or is the exclusion itself by-design?

Whatever may be the case but above paragraphs have some Voice Of Customer (VOC) hidden in there that has potential to differentiate an offering. 

1/ For a builder-developer and an architect by providing a hole for a split unit at construction stage itself. This is to avoid the wastage of breaking the wall open for split unit.

2/ For an air-conditioner manufacturer-designer by making diffuser of a split unit small enough to fit into the opening provided for a window unit. This will create an opportunity for increased sale of the split unit.

From the configurations (see figure) of a typical manufacturer, you may find that none of the diffusers of the 'split' unit fit the 'window' width that is about 660 millimeters (standard). Of course, this is not until someone makes it to fit into the window and makes the customers aware of it thereby pulling 'window' unit customers to buy 'split' unit.

There are many opportunities if marketers and designers choose to innovate by mining into VOC such as above. Differentiated offerings as above could be possible by simple frugal innovations though many real innovations themselves are possible with frugal expenses on R&D if at all.

"How often do you hear VOC?"
Jokingly many reply: "Hardly any! Because she (customer) doesn't speak!"

Although this is fit to be a whatsapp reply, part of it is certainly true.

Customers are difficult to get to speak. Hardly any tell you what they want.
Fewer know what they need although they want to design their own life.
So somehow both the above types get rid of you by filling in the blanks in customer satisfaction survey forms in order to comply to your request. Analysis of such 'tick-marks' on the forms adds a little value if at all. 

If at all any of them do (speak), hardly 4-out-of-100 that are not satisfied with the offering, do so to complain reluctantly.
Rest leave without telling the supplier and join hands with the competitor.

Knowing this well some excellent companies capture VOC proactively.

Komatsu for instance fitted GPS-enabled software (KOMTRAX) in their equipment so that their engineers can capture and 'visualize' customer problems, needs, etc. in real-time as also they can value-add to their operations by updating them on their equipment utilization, etc.

Toyota for instance, fitted micro-phones in their new car models during test marketing so that they could capture 'feelings and expressions' of their customers that could be built into the product before commercially releasing them as competition to their own current models.

So do you have guts to cannibalize your own products before your competitors do?

Can't you make your customer speak, capture it, and build it into your offering faster than your competitor just as the Komatsus and Toyotas did?

Why not? 

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

Aesthetics Spills-Over Function, Want Spills-Over Need (Part-1)
Aesthetics Spills-Over Function, Want Spills-Over Need (Part-2)
Functional-Aesthetics
WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling
How To Make A Difference
Nauseous Communication Gaps
Judge If It's Paralysis-By-Analysis
Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy
Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !!
Strategise To Achieve Targets Daily
Does recognition really matter
Customer or Custo-Mer ?
Experienced A Delightful Payment !
An Experience of Heart-and-Soul
Do you keep curing your brand ?
A customer gets what s/he deserves: Shoddy Quality!
Listen to iceberg of VOC to acquire customers
Do You Force Customers To Quit
Should one care for value ?
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms !
Do You Ask Right Questions ?
Talk In Order To Listen! 

Functional-Aesthetics

"Almost all crime is due to the repressed desire for aesthetic expression." Evelyn Waugh English Writer. 

The concept in this blogpost was triggered by a picture that I saw painted on a wall of Rail Museum in Mysore.

It said: Way to Maharani (Queen) Saloon!

At its first sight, I was reminded of a term usually misspelled in India, Saloon for Salon: the term for a barber's shop.

I wondered what had the painting to do with the rail exhibits. In the wildest imagination, I could think of its links, if at all any, with the hairdressing of Queens of the dynasties in palaces of Mysore and around.

I found myself wrong after looking around for a while. I found the real Saloon. A part of the rail carriage was exhibited there. It was devoted to seated relaxation combined with a dining table: The Saloon!

Anyway, let me take an about-turn now. Let me expand on the thought that occurred to me at the sight of this picture at this site.

Why do people go to a salon: a barber's shop?

Some go for their Functional 'Needs'.
Some go for their Aesthetic 'Wants'.
Some go for "Functional-Aesthetics": This is the term & the concept that had instantaneously occurred to me then at the sight of the painting.

I 'googled' for the term "Functional-Aesthetics" and giggled that it didn't exist.

What is Functional-Aesthetics?

Typically a haircut that's acceptable with reference to military norms is functional.

Actually long hair can be unhealthy as well as dangerous, both in military as well as in other contexts. In military setting in particular, additional reasons of their typical haircut could be to preempt accidents due to long hair, its maintenance, distractions or undesired attractions due to them if stylized, as the case may be, in the warfield. The functions that it is expected to serve makes it a functional haircut.

A funny haircut acceptable only to a small group of trendy people as a fad could be termed as purely aesthetic one. It's generally acceptable as a style for its funny aesthetics more than for the function that it's expected to serve if at all.

On the same lines, a haircut typically acceptable to school norms could fall in the category of Functional-Aesthetics.

In short, 'needs' that stand the tests of an acceptable system's logically acceptable judiciously balanced norms or standards or criteria could be termed as Functionally-Aesthetic.

'Wants or desires' that go beyond such logical norms or criteria could be termed as Aesthetic more than Functional, with reference to a given system. 

A style that adds substance to the function (that it is supposed to serve) without any extra cost to the offering nor to the ecology may also stand the test of being Functionally-Aesthetic: A shirt for instance bought for its extra-large pockets or additional pockets unconventionally located on its sleeve, say, in order to eliminate carrying an extra hand-bag. 

Paradoxically, a functionally-aesthtic offering to be on the right path of evolution should truly lead to multi-functionality in its usage with minimalist use of resources while at the same time simplistic-to-use, maintain & facilitate eco-friendly disposal as a part of its total lifecycle. 

Functionally-Aesthetic offering in general should 'sell' more in the longer run than purely Functional or purely Aesthetic one. Because it offers value; because it offers Total Quality to all its stakeholders. On the contrary, rest of the offerings necessarily need marketing 'push' & overselling too. Or in its absence, the purely Aesthetic may fail to exploit its full potential. 

A Lesson!

If you mindfully observe, you may find that the Mother Nature and its every design itself is Functionally-Aesthetic both in its form-and-fit. It's intelligently crafted Aesthetics! That's why everything natural from food-to-fossil is pure, beautiful, lean, value-adding and valuable. Hope human race strives to maintain it that way. Hope it draws a lesson or two to learn from (it) and invests its finite time in adding value to life rather than destroying it by incorporating the unwanted waste under the disguise of so-called Aesthetics.

Only way to do so is by arresting unneeded human activities and unwise choice/s for want/s that create a materialistic world. Spoiled choices in particular take one away from being Functionally-Aesthetic: The choices that are far from being sustainable!

Here's a MaiKu© poem while on the subject:

On way to queen's saloon
Imagination took off in balloon
Finally landed Saloon in Salon

©MaiKu Is My-Haiku
Freely ideate it's poetic rhymes
Any objective topic it chimes

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

Do You Celebrate Mean-or-Green

Aesthetics Spills-Over Function, Want Spills-Over Need (Part-1)

Aesthetics Spills-Over Function, Want Spills-Over Need (Part-2)

Should one care for value? 

Do you exercise your choice meaningfully

What You See Isn't What's Made

You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable

Wish To Be Planet-Friendly?: Save! 

Less With More And More Gets Sore

Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy

Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation

That's How Morons Work

Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass 

WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling

Eternally Happy

Eternally Happy: परमानंद

How Many Times Do You Wash Hands

Our regular cook was to stay absent for a few days. We asked for an alternative arrangement. Usually they won't make it. You have to ask for it. 

The person who substituted her straight went to kitchen (shop)floor to fetch flour. She dug into the container without washing her hands. After a while she began beating the dough.

When I asked her 'why didn't she wash her hands' her response was that she had washed hands at home.

Funny!

One does encounter such behavior at automated high-technology workplaces as well. Other day I saw a bearer with a nice hair-cap worn to prevent hair falling in food. Although he had a glove worn over his right hand he was serving roti (Indian bread made on a touch-free automatic machine) by the bare left-hand. Funny isn't it!

Back home I had to tell the maid that her hands might have encountered so many undesired touch-points on way to my home, her workplace.

Typical Touch-Points

Fetch purse or bag while going to work
Wear shoes (one touch-point less for the good if socks aren't worn)
Hold handle of the door in order to open it
Hold handle of the bus to board it
Exchange cash for ticket
Hold the handle of the lift (at workplace)
Pick up dust bin left outside the owner's home overnight in order to bring it inside

Unbuckle her shoes

One may consider so many such kind of touch-points like combing hair, picking teeth, shaking hands with friends-and-foes on the way, and many more creative ones that people usually engage into.

After all such diversely possible touch-points, she had taken a deep dive into the flour merrily beating it's dough inside-out: All this without washing hands!

One might suffer a blackout at slightest of imagination of even a single touch-point:

On blowing their running noses, do you know how many people  touch all those handles (of buses, of doors, of toilet doors, etc.) how many times in a day?

Do you know that the currency that you exchange might have landed in your hands after having passed hands of so many beggars?

A single search on internet can confirm that one of the most dirty touch-points housing most dangerous bacteria are the various knobs and handles that one handles at public places.

After so many such dangerous touch-points, how about eating food without washing hands because they were "already washed while leaving the workplace or leaving home for work"?

One may allow such funny practices if on a massive immunization programme or is on a mission to be a guinea-pig for all kind of germs on the planet. Some more germs might not make much of a difference having swallowed some inadvertently already.

But reality is different. Not only does one take a complete wash on entering home but also takes a well-rubbed hand-wash just before eating. 

Then why tolerate double-standards like that of the maid, behaving exactly the reverse on leaving home for work?

Surely it's the result of lack of attitude that's reflected in unclean behavior. One reason might be lack of education. Prior to that it may be lack of adequate standards and procedures (SOP¹) on cleanliness: unique-standards or single-standards if you may like to call. Most important reason is the lack of commitment by decision makers to train and motivate and if required take tough and unpleasant decisions about the concerned. 

Else corresponding consequences are well-deserved if one doesn't work towards it. 

Some do appear unreasonable mavericks at times on self as well as on others to change such bad habits! 

It's not out of place here to remember those few who refrain from shaking hands. Instead they greet by putting both hands together: The well-thought-out Indian practice of Namaskar! 

Footnotes: 

1. SOP: Standard Operating Procedures such as GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) or Five-S practices in industry. 

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

How To Make A Difference

WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling

Some Moron ! Some Great !!!

That's How Morons Work

You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable

Am I 'Short-sighted' or 'Long-sighted'?  
Beware Of Political-Presentations 
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis 
Hoarders Of Filthy Hoardings 
Are You Good If Others Are Bad?

Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass 

Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy

In-a-problem? No-problem! Dwell-a-while!

Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation

Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture

Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice?

Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !!

Technology in-place, security dis-placed

Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass

I am a miser!
Fool for others but unconventionally miser or a maverick for myself!!

Who is an unconventional-miser?: The one who follows principles of MISER: Minimize-Improvise-Simplify-Eliminate or Reduce waste. 

In fact my family members have borrowed MISER philosophy from me like a cuckoo brought up in a crow's nest would do. 

In order to REDUCE WASTE, the other day my wife got broken-strap-set of her slipper replaced instead of throwing it away. Actually only left-side-strap from the pair was broken. So she wanted to bring the right-side one back for future use as a backup and thereby REDUCE WASTE further on.

But the over-smart cobbler didn't give her any chance to implement her good intention. May be he wished to protect national pride from her 'miser' attitude. Before even she could complete her request, he chopped off both-side straps in split-second saying it would have otherwise damaged slot in the slipper had he tried to pull it off.

If he could insert new strap in the slot he could have easily removed the old one from it. Naturally because it was a rubber slipper with rubber-strap made of flexible material. Upto my engineering studies I couldn't afford any other footwear than a low-end slipper. So having done similar excercise not less than 100-times, I could have done what the cobbler was supposed to do perhaps more skillfully. 

What is the learning?

This is a case of breaking window-glass and then suggesting to replace it without bothering costs of it to the country's economy. Some businesses do use such a strategy of local-optimization. They take things and people for granted including the country. 

This is no different than staff of an inefficient municipality not bothering about quality of roads that forces wasteful activities such as that of rubbing (puncturing) tyres of vehicles and breaking backs of travellers. In fact, the cobbler behaved indifferently to a complaint made to him later on having realized that he had put two different sizes of straps (number '7' and '8' as can be seen in picture): A quality defect. 

This is what happens in a high-mistrust society where moron suppliers thrive upon number games instead of global-optimization for the larger good.

This is what happens where people-in-power (leaders themselves) discard things as 'old' although they are in good form and fit (aesthetically and functionlly). There 'pride'and 'ego' doesn't allow them to use things 'used' by their predecessors. 

Anyway, that's about what others can do. As a lesson learnt, I have decided to choose (rather bank upon) my childhood skills next time. In generic terms: To do mistake-proofing instead of trusting non-trustworthy morons to get near-perfect service.

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder: Please do consider leaving a comment or sharing this post.

Make It Simpler, Rest Will Follow 
How To Make A Difference 
Big-Be Or Bug-Be ! 
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms ! 
Nauseous Communication Gaps 
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis 
Raam or Krishna-Shyam: Tell me Hey Raam! 
Will It Work Here?  
Some Moron ! Some Great !!! 
That's How Morons Work 
You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable 
Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass  
WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling 
Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy 
Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation
Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture 
Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice? 
That's how some business partnerships work 
Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !! 
Technology in-place, security dis-placed
IQ-EQ-or-SQ: What-is-more-important?
Do you know a Best-Career-Plan 
Customer or Custo-Mer?  
Experienced A Delightful Payment ! 
An Experience of Heart-and-Soul 
Less With More And More Gets Sore 
Should one care for value?  
ABCD of India Shining
Beware Of Political-Presentations 
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis 
Hoarders Of Filthy Hoardings

Aesthetics Spills-Over Function, Want Spills-Over Need (Part-1)

Look at cup in the picture carefully!

Can you see tea marks all along the rim? Can you guess the reason of the tea spilling over all along the rim? 

It was due to square shape of the cup that it's content tried to find it's way across the rim while trying to take a sip. In fact it spilled over my shirt since side of the square is longer than opening of the mouth. In case of a round cup however, the flow narrows down over smaller width.

As you may see, the soccer too is so shallow that cup finds it difficult to hold on to it's feet over the soccer. Cup ends up shaking as a result. 

I got delayed for my appointment due to spillage over my shirt that made me rework my 'make-up': a mini crisis!

The idiosyncratic miser in me tends to tangiblize everything specially in case of waste.

Why not? Time as also other resources are money! So the resultant COPQ (Cost-Of-Poor-Quality) of Poor-Design that resulted in such rework, that you may also be able to estimate, bring forward a few lessons.

What are the lessons¹?

1/ Designers should take care not to let unnecessary aesthetics spill over functionality unlike an interior designer for instance. In order to make a guest-room 'look' well-appointed, a poor designer doesn't allow labeling² of utility switches even if it means a guest struggling for the one s/he needs: be it a light, a fan, or hot-or-cold water-tap in a wash room. In fact, some fittings have so fancy looking designs that the user looks like a farm-fresh villager who struggles to use them.

2/ Aesthetic design short of adequate functionality may be able to generate  initial affinity towards a brand but won't be able to create brand-loyalty that is long-term. Although aesthetics may appeal emotionally, without functionality it won't be able to appeal to rationality of the buyer. S/he looses interest in the offering because it fails to deliver value that s/he was looking for.

3/ It's always a good idea to test designs in order to make them simple and user-friendly by seeking customer feedback.

4/ Merely pushing sales numbers by taking disadvantage of emotional behavior of buyer's desire to grab 'wants' is an age old marketing tactic. Marketers should reset their mindsets and refrain from such overselling.

5/ Buyers should counter marketing tactics by basing their buying decisions on rationality rather than emotionalism.

6/ Buyers should buy because 'it's good in serving their purpose' rather than because 'it's good-looking!'

The example that I began with in this blogpost looks trivial. But the message it gives is not.

In order to know the larger purpose that it serves, you may read Part-2 of this blogpost.

Footnote-1, Reader may add tips and suggestions from her own experience.
Footnote-2, This is the recommendation under Five-S's practice of Kaizen Culture.

Listen to the iceberg of VOC to acquire customers

Having traveled over 500-Kilometers in a 'bus-to-hell', I requested the agent to "book my return-journey on a bus-service that follows road-safety norms (especially the overtaking related), doesn't honk horn excessively, nor does it overuse brakes."

There was no other convenient alternative mode. A debt-ridden airliner had stopped operating on that (the Mumbai-Hubli) sector.

The travel agent gave me a funny look as if he was booking a ticket for an alien.

Not his fault because he was used to conventional requests like "timeliness, cleanliness, bus-with-video", etc. But someone like an idiosyncratic like me had to do the nasty job of giving customer-feedback. I usually don't hesitate doing so, sometimes even by making unusual requests such as above although unsure of the cognizance of it. 

I'm optimistic that sometime someone will. I think every customer who isn't, deserves to get a shoddy quality if s/he does!

Anyway, whether a customer complains or not, is it difficult for owners/managers of tourist buses to prevent their bus-drivers from overdoing: honking, speeding-up, braking on-and-oft, etc. kind of bad work habits. Now a days even digital technology is available to do so. Drivers, especially the bus-drivers, are constantly in a mood to kiss other speeding vehicles passing by.

Perhaps only on Indian roads the passengers must be getting reduced to a continuously-rattling grain-in-a-sieve. One has to master the art of Napolean-nap (quick nap on horse that he's famous for) to be able to take one in between a couple of sets of honking and braking in buses in India.

Forget feedback or lodging a complaint, hardly anyone even dares to voice such abnormal driving behavior. Surely s/he won't for the fear of the 'boss'-driver particularly if forced to travel frequently in the same bus.

Some companies do have a mechanism to capture such voice-of-customer (VOC). Because they know that, although sounding like 'idiosyncratic' casual remarks, VOC are just a tip of the iceberg (of complaints not voiced by many others for various reasons).

Some of them are sensible and sensitive enough to take next steps that of digging into the iceberg to take corrective and preventive actions treating such voices as 'complaints', although at times they may not be so.

- But having taken actions, how many look at the resulting improved practices as a competitive advantage! 

- How many build upon them and deploy them horizontally as specifications enhancing their own standards over and above their 'core-offering'! 

- How many communicate them (through their marketing promotion programme) in order to differentiate their services from from others!

Those who do, do score over their competition!

What steps do such forward looking companies take?

1/ They educate their staff that hardly over 4-out-of-100 dissatisfied customers might end up complaining. Rest just quit without-telling even as the so-called satisfied customers continue to 'live' with abnormalities until of course they get alternative-options.

2/ They install various mechanisms such as follows to capture VOC.

- They actually travel like a ghost-customer (known as mystery-shopping practice) in order to learn by observing abnormal as also good practices, if any.

- They train their staff to speak and/or 'actively-listen' to customers just as a mother would do with her tiny tots in order to learn their unspoken-unmet needs over and above their 'crying' wants anyway.

3/ They put Kaizen-improvements in place on relevant VOC observations, abnormal as well as good practices of own as also that from customer's gemba, and unspoken-unmet needs as also wants.

4/ They train and re-train their stakeholders on the above for effective implementation.

Actually specifications such as timeliness, cleanliness, video, etc. are a given 'Must-Quality' norms to enter or at the most to be in business.

Additionally it is the satisfaction of VOC: unspoken-unmet needs as well as wants (that's why it is called as 'Quality-that-Delights' the customer) that has the power - to expand the base of customer as also of the business (Ansoff-Matrix) by not only helping to bring out innovative products/services but also - to pull in additional customers (brand-affinity) while retaining the existing ones on existing products/services (brand-loyalty).

Of course, effectively communicating the resultant differentiations among all its stakeholders is part and parcel of the process.

Very few companies actually administer such a conducive mechanism by-design. Imagine the scope to benefit from it in terms of top-line sales and bottom-line profits if they do.

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder: Please do consider leaving a comment or sharing this post.

No Time? Micro-Meditate!  
Functional-Aesthetics
Listen To The Iceberg Beyond Tip

Overworked? Tension? CPU of the mind hung-up? 
Do you exercise your choice meaningfully 
IQ-EQ-or-SQ: What-is-more-important? 
Eternally Happy! 
In-a-problem? No-problem! Dwell-a-while! 
I am afraid ! What do I do !! 
Fearful-Of-Death-of-Birth
Take Habits For A Ride 
Happy-Birthday-to-Youooo
Do You Celebrate Mean-or-Green 
Big-Be Or Bug-Be ! 
Raam or Krishna-Shyam: Tell me Hey Raam! 
Are You Good If Others Are Bad?  
Want Need-Or-Want 
How To Make A Difference 
Love is Care.. Care is Love !  
Deity is in the eyes of the beholder 
Success-or-failure! What-do-you-like?
Ball-Basin-Team Combine !  Maketh The Smile Divine !! 

Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation

Waiting for a fall

Murphy's Law: The tile on foot-over-bridge is looking for an opportunity to fall on vehicle speeding underneath. 

Imagine the magnitude of probable damage in that case.

Is Cost of Poor Quality (CoPQ) resulting from potential failures such as above hidden in the picture affordable?

To elaborate on CoPQ concept and the APPROACH to solution over it, you may read Kaizen on Crisis Situations.

Technology in-place, security dis-placed

The picture here-below tells a story.

Beautiful technology: the metal-detector!

People fight for it if it's not there.
"How can you improve if you don't invest", they complain.

No one around it to use it if it's (installed) there.

Can you imagine the magnitude of Cost of Poor Quality (CoPQ)? 

And the resulting cost of probable crisis that might erupt from potential failures hidden in the picture?

Yes, you may complete the story by answering questions that come to your mind on situations such as at the railway station in picture: 

The security guard was missing resulting in under use of the technology.

The detector itself was non-functional.

To elaborate on the CoPQ concept, you may read Kaizen on Crisis Situations - World Of Kaizen.

Boom-Barrier Boomed, Country-Doomed http://care-is-cure.blogspot.com/2013/12/boom-barrier-boomed-country-doomed.html 

That's how some business partnerships work

Take-care Take-care 

Free-pack could be a Curse-pack Dear customer

That you may murmur later

These Maiku (My Haiku) poetic lines got shaped while I was on a flight.

Seat pocket in front of me was stuffed with reading material and 'offers-on-board' for 'captive target market'.

Here is a picture of one of that about 'business partnerships' and that of an 'air-pillow' kind of pack received free-of-cost (courtesy a partner). It was a delight.

I photographed them both ignoring embarrassing look by my co-passenger. That's how I behave: an idiosyncratic fellow taking odd pictures such as around even a wash-basin, catching 'innovative styles' of someone blowing nose.

My so-called delight was short-lived as I found only four biscuits inside, against expectations that the inflated 'air-pillow' size pack seemed to raise. The innovative shape of the biscuits made them 'look bigger' that actually were 'smaller in weight'. 

The pack itself was a 'bag full of gas': A near-empty ppromise! 

Isn't it too much that a miser customer like me expects on a budget-airline. No wonder that the co-passenger was embarrassed.

Anyway, coming back to business of this blog-post, that's how some business partnerships work if not most.

The other day someone asked my opinion on an offer that came his way: "Indigo diesel available for 2.5 lacs. 2012-model."

I told him what an old car dealer often suggests. Price may be good but mechanic should check out engine condition. Check if it's an accident-car (changed-color remark on RC book is one clue); Kilometers ran (check if the dial is changed); Single-owner (and a known owner is good); Clear papers, etc.

My friend appeared insistent: "It is available from Maruti's second-hand dealer. So the offer should be reliable."

I shared with him my learning "from reliable sources" that there do exist 'partnerships' as a part of a typical 'business strategy'. Sometimes they are in the interest of customer. Sometimes they are Cozy-Nexus solely in the interest of the supply-chain itself as in following example:

- A typical 'second-hand-dealer' (let's call him a SCD), for instance, has an arm's length connection with a 'new-car-dealer' (let's call him a NCD) who makes an 'exchange offer'.

- NCD sends a valuer of SCD while offering a test-drive of a new vehicle.

- After exchange-deal is through, the SCD takes away old car and sells it on demand-supply criterion or with a mark-up of 30% margin whichever is higher. 

- So both the SCD as well as NCD do have vested interests in trying to push through the respective deals. Rightly so for them although not for customer! They are in business!!

In such cases the marketeer tends to oversell. But a prospective customer should behave business-like when s/he comes across an 'attractive-offer' like "Indigo diesel available for 2.5 lacs. 2012-model". After all her money is 'hard-earned'.  

The old-car dealer's suggestions referred earlier need to be viewed in light of this. That's also a reason why a single owner, a known owner as a direct-seller (without a middle-man) in-for a 'distress-sale' is more likely to be a good value-deal. Provided of course a reliable mechanic certifies condition even if it means paying his fees to inspect for 'some strings attached', if any.

Is it a value-deal then you need to ask every-time someone claims it to be a 'Unique-offer'?

Is it a value-deal when you go to buy biscuits that 'look-bigger'? or
Is it a short-term value on offer when so-called 'partners' offer you something FOC (free-of-cost) with a pack that looks disproportionately bigger? Are there any strings attached to the offer? or
Is it a value-deal when a telephone subscriber gets a movie-ticket free if s/he buys one on Tuesdays?

Is it a value-deal when you get 'Buy-2-Get-3' kind of free-offers?

Sometimes yes! Other-times no!!

Make checklists your friends

For some reason I wanted to close savings account operated by three-joint-holders; me,  my wife and my son based more than 500 kilometers away from us.

Bank officer checked our account and advised that all the three holders must sign an account-closing form. Accordingly, my son collected a blank form locally and couriered it to me. We signed it and went to submit it to the bank.

The bank officer says: You should have closed the fixed deposits linked with the account before closing the savings account.

How can you expect customer to know this technical procedure?

"I am sorry madam, but I should have told you about this", apologizes the officer.

Damage is already done: rework, delay, etc.
Real apology could have been the officer going beyond first-aid that of giving additional form in above case.

Why can't people use simple checklists associated with a given step in a process or a procedure such as (titled) 'Checklist items to check before closing a savings account' in above case.

But yes! This is what happened in a leading private sector bank in India. In fact, the technology they already had with them could have been harnessed to create a mistake-proof pop-up (as a Pokayoke Kaizen as in Japanese-Management or rather The Toyota-Way to work). It should have reminded the user to 'check' the items in-lieu of the manual 'checklist' as above.

Why do people over-depend on their memory? Why can't they reserve it as a ram (in computer) for processing rather than to memorize?

Same was the case in a leading telephone company. The customer attendant asked me to wait because he didn't know exact details of the 'plan on offer'.

After 10-minutes waiting, a spiky-hair-styled man walked in, 'smelling' cigarette as he explained the plan without even looking at computer or a paper. "Leaflet stock-out" was the reply when asked.

He was touted as a 'memory-freak'. Perhaps he too seemed to enjoy it taking it as a pride.
A false pride seemed to got nurtured by himself or by people surrounding him at home or at work.

While writing this blogpost, a service mechanic from the above telephone company enters my home with 'smelling socks'. Had the smell been little stronger, I would have vomited if not fainted.

An excellent company would keep and train their visiting staff on a 'Do-Don't Checklist such as follows:

Before entering Indian homes 

Don't gate-crash. Take appointment and be on time (not in-time). 
Press door bell just once. Don't keep it pressed too long. 
Gently knock the door if bell is non-functional. Don't hammer it impatiently (treating it like a nail). 
Wear identity card and show it. 

Remove shoes. Remove smelling socks. 

Greet before entering.
Don't keep your bags, tools, etc. on furniture.
Take permission before sitting on sofa.

Actively and completely listen to customer complaints. 
Check if job is completed to the customer's satisfaction.

I would like to add visual-aids in support of checklists wherever possible & in particular in support of the last point above.

Visual-aids such as in picture depict certain principles that can be practised to benefit in various situations. A typical visual-aid might contain a sketch sequencing a job to be done in order to prevent forgetfulness or might color-code wires to be connected in order to prevent wrong connections or might provide PEEP slots in a frequent-travelers bag, etc.

When there is a Place-(SLOT)-for-Everything and if Everything-is-(NOT)-in-Place (PEEP), the empty SLOT, if any, reminds user of the 'missing things'. This idea is a part of Five-S (Seiton) practice for continual improvement.

At individual level, a person with a passion to excel (and wishing not to regret the result of forgetfulness later) would keep an individualized 'Do-Don't Checklist & visual-aids' on him as and when needed, be it while going to the market or while going to work or play. He does this although others may consider this as an idiosyncratic practice.

At individual level, a person with a passion to excel (and wishing not to regret the result of forgetfulness later) would keep an individualized 'Do-Don't Checklist on him as and when needed, be it while going to the market or while going to work or play.

Like an enemy, memory behaves funny exactly when you are in need 

Like a friend-in-need, checklists make you productive indeed

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder: Please do consider leaving a comment or sharing this post.

Do You Celebrate Mean-or-Green

Aesthetics Spills-Over Function, Want Spills-Over Need (Part-1)

Aesthetics Spills-Over Function, Want Spills-Over Need (Part-2)

Should one care for value? 

Do you exercise your choice meaningfully

What You See Isn't What's Made

You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable

Wish To Be Planet-Friendly?: Save! 

Less With More And More Gets Sore

Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy

Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation

That's How Morons Work

Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass 

WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling

Make It Simpler, Rest Will Follow 

How To Make A Difference 
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms ! 
Nauseous Communication Gaps 
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis 
Will It Work Here?  
Some Moron ! Some Great !!! 
That's How Morons Work 
You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable 
Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass  
WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling 
Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy 
Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation
Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture 
Technology in-place, security dis-placed
IQ-EQ-or-SQ: What-is-more-important?
Customer or Custo-Mer?  
Experienced A Delightful Payment ! 
Less With More And More Gets Sore 
Should one care for value?  
Hoarders Of Filthy Hoardings