While the dentist was looking over my x-rays, he saw something he would like checked out by a specialist. He used words like “sometimes they..” and “might be…” when describing the issue he saw.
I get a referral. The information on the referral slip is the name of the referring dentist (which I can’t read), no [...]
In the
last post I commented on Ron Popeil’s product development approach – to make the product easy to demonstrate drives making it easy to use, which creates more value for the customer.
Let’s take the same thinking back to your internal customers.
What if, rather than just writing a procedure, you had to go and demonstrate [...]
Today was traveling on behest of a large corporation, so the travel arrangements were made through them. It all went about as routinely as could be expected on the last weekend before Christmas… for me.
Unfortunately the guy I am supposed to meet here had flights going through D.C. that were on a collision trajectory with [...]
the very first thing to do if a machine starts producing scrap material is to shut it down. It is better to make nothing because that is a cheaper alternative than making stuff you can’t use.
I have come to expect very little from most airlines, especially for the parts of the “service” that doesn’t involve actually sitting in the airplane. Still, some airlines make their policies more clear than others. Alaska Air, for example, is explicitly clear that I can hold a reservation for 24 hours and cancel with no [...]
A couple of days ago, in “
The First Steps of The Lean Journey,” I said that there really is no first step, only the next step from where ever you are right now.
I admit that I left out a big assumption there – that you know where you are trying to go.
More specifically, that you [...]
Occasionally it is good to think about not only the product we make or service we deliver, but to reflect a bit on exactly what value the customer receives from that product or service. Sometimes we confuse the technology we apply to get something done with what we are really trying to do.
Last week I
posted a story of a failed freezer, ruined food, and a customer support experience that could be summed up as “That’s how we do it.” I invited comments and asked:
“Is this a problem?”
And when I say “problem” I mean, is this a “problem” from the standpoint of the company’s internal process?
There are [...]
This news piece,
America’s Best Hospitals: The 2009-10 Honor Roll, originally got my attention because I hoped someone might be actually be paying attention to the things that make a real difference in our national debate about health care.
Unfortunately, it looks like more of the same.
This survey looks at things like technical capability – what [...]
This morning I got an email from a friend that recounts a (still ongoing) story of a failed freezer.
We arrived home Tuesday from a week away to find the “extra” freezer in the garage totally kaput…..much of the stuff inside already ruined but some still partially frozen. It’s only 4 years old and within warranty, [...]