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No More Lean Excuses by Dan Jones
This is a theme in Jones and Womack’s recent book: Lean Solutions.
Recently I bought a new digital camera, Canon A700. Part of the reason I bought it was I had heard they actually provided customer service – you could call them and they answered and helped (plus they have long practiced good management improvement concepts, in general).
Well I received my camera and I could not open the battery compartment: which was quite frustrating. I tried following the instructions but I couldn’t get it to open. So I tried calling Canon and I got a person on the phone within 30 seconds (there was system to direct me to the right person but it was as speaking the answer to a couple questions).
Within a couple minutes the service person (based in Virginia and a Canon employee, as I understand it) had picked up a Canon A700 and explained how to open the door. I happen to think the instructions, and design, could be much better but maybe I just couldn’t see it.
Anyway I know of two companies that provide this level of phone support: Canon and Crutchfield. I am sure there are others. I am much more likely to buy from them if I have a choice.
I also very much like dealing with Amazon but they provide no after purchase service (which is why I had to call Canon – which worked very well). But for finding products and getting them shipped to me, I have been a satisfied customer for years.
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October 31st, 2006 at 7:50 pm
Complex devices with many points of failure (both technical failure and user inability to figure it out) should not be the only option. Simple, easy to use, reliable devices would have a big market. Creativity is not just about more complex devices…
June 28th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Also retailers like Crutchfield that provide excellent after market support should benefit. Places that people go to only due to cheap prices will probably suffer…
November 21st, 2007 at 9:42 am
Womack: “All the Japanese car companies did the quality thing based on the Deming Prize criteria and so forth back in the 1960s and 70s. What that meant was, they tried to get from end-of-the-line inspection to inspection at the source.”
February 28th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
[...] is not a dreaded experience: Trader Joe’s, Southwest Airlines, Ritz Carlton, Crutchfield, Cannon, Groovix. There are not many. And even just providing something that just works is seen as a treat. [...]