Printer SNAFU
The printer that wouldn't print was returned to OfficeMax. I requested a replacement. They told me it was out of stock and would be delivered as soon as it arrived.
Yesterday, FedEx Ground showed up with a printer, but it was a black-and-white Brother, not the HP Color Laserjet I'd ordered. "Wrong printer," I said when then FedEx guy asked for a signature.
So I'm sure OfficeMax has to pay for the freight out and back, plus the rework to get the right printer shipped and then pay the freight to send the right printer. Based on the weight of the printer, I'd guess that cost at $25 per trip.
You have to wonder how any OfficeMax employee could confuse an HP2840 Color Laserjet with a Brother 9900 laserjet (B/W). I'm sure they're in different parts of the warehouse.
You'd think there would be a way to mistake proof that process.
Businesses often try to rationalize these kinds of mistakes by saying that my experience was a rare exception. I disagree. If I can experience it
at all that means it's systemic and deeply rooted in how they do business.
I can tell you that OfficeMax's customer service has improved, but their delivery still stinks. Sell your stock now. It's only a matter of time.
Jay Arthur, the KnowWare
â Man, works with companies that want to plug the leaks in their cash flow. Jay specializes in Lean Six Sigma for Health Care and Information Systems applications: ordering, billing, purchasing, and payments. He is the author of Six Sigma Simplified and the QI Macros SPC Software for Excel.
mailto:knowwareman@mindspring.com
http://www.qimacros.com
2253 S. Oneida St, Ste D
Denver, CO 80224
303-756-9144 (888) 468-1537
Printers Should Print, Shouldn't They?
Yesterday, I bought an HP 2840 Color Laser printer. At over $800, it was a hefty price tag. It also weighs a ton. They say it will start printing a color document in about 20 seconds and print four a minute.
So, after I got it all set up, I tried to print a color PDF using Adobe Acrobat. PDF documents are a universal standard. You'd think someone would have tried printing a color PDF on the HP 2840, wouldn't you?
I waited and I waited and I waited and finally I got a message: Document failed to print. On my old inkjet printer the document would start printing right away. So I wondered what was wrong.
I downloaded new print drivers from HP's website. (Why did they include the old ones with my printer?) Still no luck.
I went through the Troubleshooter process that had stupid stuff like: Turn your printer on and off to reset it. No Luck.
Finally, I opened up a chat session with someone named Mahesh who must be in Bangalore. After much discussion, he gave me a useful bit of advice:
In Acrobat, Click on File-Print and then
click on the Advanced button and click the checkbox labeled Print as Image. It worked! But why isn't this bit of information in the user's guide or on the website? And why does this printer require exotic adjustments to print a simple PDF?
I'm a geek and I struggled for hours with what should have been a plug and play situation. OfficeMax has a 14 day return policy and I'm still thinking about exercising it, but I need more speed than the inkjets. Maybe I should try the Epson? or Canon?
Expected Levels of Quality
Customers have every right to expect your gizmo or gadget to do what every other similar gadget can do (e.g., print a PDF without a struggle). It's
expected. Are you making too hard for customers and too easy for them to switch to a new vendor?
Printers should print, shouldn't they?
Jay Arthur, the KnowWare
â Man, works with companies that want to plug the leaks in their cash flow. Jay specializes in Lean Six Sigma for Health Care and Information Systems applications: ordering, billing, purchasing, and payments. He is the author of Six Sigma Simplified and the QI Macros SPC Software for Excel.
mailto:knowwareman@mindspring.com
http://www.qimacros.com
2253 S. Oneida St, Ste D
Denver, CO 80224
303-756-9144 (888) 468-1537
Restaurant Errors
My wife took off work yesterday, so I took her to lunch at the Fresh Fish Company, a local restaurant. We arrived early and were the third couple seated.
She ordered the Fish and Chips and I ordered a Baked Cod Florentine (I like anything with spinach). Unlike many restaurant waiters, he actually wrote our order down on an order pad. So many of them just listen and then write it down or enter it later.
It took a surprisingly long time for our order to arrive, but when it did, the waiter served Shirley her Fish and Chips and as he placed a lovely filleted fish in front of me he said: "And here's your
trout, sir."
I said: "It looks lovely, but I think I ordered the baked cod florentine."
He shook his head and said: "Yes, you did."
He picked up the trout and headed back to the kitchen.
I told Shirley to start eating because someone else was probably eating my cod, thinking it was trout.
About 10 minutes later, my cod arrived. It was great, but late. And unlike other restaurants, they didn't offer to take the meal off the check, give us a free dessert or coffee or anything.
Root Cause Analysis
It wouldn't bug me so much if this wasn't such a common occurrence in restaurants. How hard can it be to:
1. Get the order right.
(Did he write it down correctly? There's very few ways to confuse "cod" with "trout.")
2. Prepare the order correctly.
(Did the cook get it wrong?)
3. Deliver the correct order.
(Or did the cook set two orders side by side and the waiter picked up the wrong dish?)
4. If you make a mistake, fix it fast and make it right with the customer.
I'm guessing that because the second order took so long that it was never ordered correctly in the first place.
At least the bill was correct, although it didn't convey any apology for our inconvenience. I don't eat at this restaurant very often because, although the food is good, the rest of the process is error prone.
Your product ain't the product!
The product is the total customer experience. There may be nothing wrong with your product, but your service may stink. Incorrect orders, bills, or late delivery are all part of your product or service.
Find ways to mistake proof the whole chain of customer experience or customers will find someone who can.
Jay Arthur, the KnowWare
â Man, works with companies that want to plug the leaks in their cash flow. Jay specializes in Lean Six Sigma for Health Care and Information Systems applications: ordering, billing, purchasing, and payments. He is the author of Six Sigma Simplified and the QI Macros SPC Software for Excel.
mailto:knowwareman@mindspring.com
http://www.qimacros.com
2253 S. Oneida St, Ste D
Denver, CO 80224
303-756-9144 (888) 468-1537
Job Security
There's been a lot of press over the last few weeks about France's law to allow businesses to fire employees who have been with a company less than two years. Up until now, if you were hired in France you had a job for life no matter what kind of job you did (no wonder unemployment is over 10% nationally and over 22% for younger workers).
Today, France's leadership caved to youth and student demonstrations and revoked the new law.
France clearly doesn't understand, nor do unions in the U.S. that you are not entitled to a job. There is only one true job security: creating products and services that customers want and are willing to pay for over and over again. If you fail to:
- create a quality product
- provide a quality service
- deliver on time
- service the customer with affection
- fix it fast and make it right for the customer if something goes wrong
it doesn't matter if your company guarantees lifetime job security or not. The marketplace will force your company (and you) out of business.
Everybody seems to want job security, but few people want to do what it takes to earn that security. Everybody seems to expect someone else to create job security. But it's everyone's job. It's your job.
Delighting and satisfying customers = job security
The only loyal customer is one that hasn't found a better supplier.
I feel sorry for France and its workers. Until they wake up and realize that job security is stifling innovation and productivity and quality, they are destined for worse unemployment and more unrest.
It's up to you. If you want job security, you've got to earn it every day, not just the day you were hired.
Jay Arthur, the KnowWare
â Man, works with companies that want to plug the leaks in their cash flow. Jay specializes in Lean Six Sigma for Health Care and Information Systems applications: ordering, billing, purchasing, and payments. He is the author of Six Sigma Simplified and the QI Macros SPC Software for Excel.
mailto:knowwareman@mindspring.com
http://www.qimacros.com
2253 S. Oneida St, Ste D
Denver, CO 80224
303-756-9144 (888) 468-1537
SAT Score SNAFU
The April 10th People Magazine reported that Pearson Education Management miscalculated SAT test scores for 4,400 college applicants. Only after a few students coughed up $50 to have their tests manually graded did the error come to light. Scores were high by as much as 50 points and low by as much as 400! Sheldon Steinbach, general council for the American Council on Education said: "This has played havoc with this year's admission process."
The Costs
1. Rework at colleges to reassess rejected students.
2. Student's loss of scholarships and desired college admissions due to low scores.
3. Parental dissatisfaction and family conflict over scores.
Root Cause
Pearson blames the rain which caused test forms to expand causing highly calibrated machines to misread the results. If that's their best guess, then my SAT scores from 1969 are in doubt. Any chance it rained in the past or it might rain in the future during SAT testing?
Wrong Answer: Water is not a root cause. Just like the butterfly ballot, design of the test materials is at fault. The root cause is test forms that expand when subjected to moisture or miscalibrated readres. My guess is that there's some paper formulation that doesn't react significantly to moisture. Or there's some way to align the form so that the mechanical readers aren't confused.
If Florida Power and Light, which does business in arguably the wettest state in the U.S., can find ways to waterproof electrical connections to prevent power outages, then SAT tests can find a way to create better forms or smarter readers.
Mistakes like these are costing our children their future. Isn't it time to get wise about process improvement?
Jay Arthur, the KnowWare
â Man, works with companies that want to plug the leaks in their cash flow. Jay specializes in Lean Six Sigma for Health Care and Information Systems applications: ordering, billing, purchasing, and payments. He is the author of Six Sigma Simplified and the QI Macros SPC Software for Excel.
mailto:knowwareman@mindspring.com
http://www.qimacros.com
2253 S. Oneida St, Ste D
Denver, CO 80224
303-756-9144 (888) 468-1537
