A Defective Product

The product was launched two years ago. Shortly after that, complaints were received about its … and … . Because of market feedback, it was … so that any faults could be investigated. At the same time, it was withdrawn from sale. After extensive tests, a fault was … by engineers. As a result, they were able to correct the fault and the product was … . It as then … under controlled conditions. Finally, the redesigned product was … in the market. Unfortunately, it … due to lack of consumer confidence caused by bad publicity.

Exercise 3. Study some more words and word groups concerning quality control and customer service. Match them with their Russian equivalents.

1. after sales care	a) дефект, недостаток
2. consumer satisfaction	b) мониторинг; контроль, наблюдение
3. faults	c) текущий контроль, текущая проверка
4. monitoring	d) послепродажное обслуживание
5. routine checks	e) изъян, дефект, недостаток
6. flaws	f) гарантия
7. warranty	g) минимальный стандарт
8. minimum standard	h) удовлетворенность потребителей

3. Organizations

Exercise 1. Match the words and word groups from ex. 6 to the correct headings.

Problems, Quality Control, Customer Service

Exercise 2. Before reading the text write your definition of quality.

Quality is not what you think

There was a claim a few years ago that quality is free – higher quality leads to higher profits. It only requires a second’s thought to see that this claim is quite absurd. Harrods makes less profi t than Wal-Mart, the Savoy

Hotel was not as good an investment as Forte Travelodges, and Anita Brookner earns less from her novels than Jeffrey Archer. Not many people need, or will pay for, the level of quality which Harrods, the Savoy and Anita Brookner provides.

I expect that several management consultants have already switched on their computers to communicate with the editor of this newspaper. They will write that I have completely misunderstood what is meant by quality. Other people would say that the Waterside Inn at Bray provides better quality meals than McDonald’s. That is how the Michelin restaurant guide judges quality when it gives three stars to the Waterside Inn and does not list McDonald’s at all. It is also what ordinary people mean by quality, and is why your partner will be happier if you celebrate your wedding anniversary at the Waterside than at McDonald’s.

But that ordinary meaning of quality is not what business consultants mean by quality. What they mean is quality relative to customer expectations, or quality relative to what you set out to achieve. By these standards, McDonald’s quality is outstanding, and that is why McDonald’s is such a successful company. There is a sense in which this is right. But because there is no observation which could ever disprove this claim, it gives you no practical help.

So does the pursuit of quality mean these fi rms should change what they do? Should McDonald’s offer duck à l’orange, or the Waterside Inn offer even more delicious food at even higher prices? I don’t know and nor does anyone. And the instruction to pursue quality creates confusion among simple people who thought that quality meant what it usually means. It had precisely that effect at British Home Stores, which thought it had to move upmarket, only to discover that Marks and Spencer customers were happy at M@S and British Home Stores customers didn’t want to pay the extra.

From the Financial Times

N o t e s. Harrods is a famous department store in London; Wal-Mart is a chain of American discount stores. The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel in London; Forte Travelodges is a chain of cheap motels found on motorways in Britain. Anita Brookner is an ‘intellectual’ British novelist; Jeffrey Archer is a popular, best-selling novelist. The Waterside Inn is a very good restaurant.

Exercise 3. Look through the whole article and do the following.

a) Find five organizations/people producing or selling mass-market products.

b) Find five organizations/people producing or selling quality products.

c) Say what type of business the organizations/people are in.

Exercise 4. If a claim is absurd, it is

a) reasonable.

b) ridiculous.

c) interesting.