Asq Quality a

The Quality Management

AS

®

W i n t e r 2 011

Volume 36, Number 4

Quality Management Division

www.asq-qm.org

A Peer-Reviewed Publication of the Quality Management Division of the American Society for Quality

Inside This Issue

I’m Sorry, Sir, There’s Nothing We Can Do . . . . . . .1 Chair’s Message . . . . . . . . .2 Using QI Skills In Daily Work . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 "Servicizing" and Sustainability: The Strategic Quality Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Quality Management Journal Announcement. . . . 13 Quality Management Journal Preview . . . . . . . . . 14 QMF Book Summary . . . . . 16 23rd Quality Management Conference Information . . . 17

I’m Sorry, Sir, There’s Nothing We Can Do

By Thomas Priesser

The Initial Situation

I deposited $1000 into my bank account via a local branch’s ATM. When I got the receipt for the deposit, it suggested that I had actually deposited $10,750. Now, that’s not bad if you get to keep the money, but considering this was at one of the country’s biggest banks—one big enough to have borrowed billions from the government under the bailout plan—I knew I had little chance of that. So I parked and went inside the branch to let someone know what happened. I explained the issue, they apparently understood, and they said that since it was a Friday, the matter would be resolved by the following Monday at noon. Satisfied, I left the bank. Everything was fine on Monday when I used my card, so I assumed the matter had been resolved the way business problems should be: transparently, from the customer’s point of view. Wrong! At about 5:00pm, I tried to use my bank card to charge something at a restaurant, and it was declined. We tried my wife’s card and the same thing happened. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the errant deposit was related to the current situation. We paid cash.

The Organizational Failure

explained. He listened. He asked questions. I answered. He thanked me for my patience. I...