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Sunday, 23 January 2011
HOW TO MAKE MONEY ... AND add to the sum of human happiness
First part of this story here:
http://www.abookandablog.com/2011/01/how-to-make-money-and-add-to-sum-of.html
Lesson 3: "In hot water again!!!"
Phoned up shop owned by local man, no logos, no secretary (wife helps out rather gently in mornings), just a business to allow him to get to end of month. Guy said if nothing to be done, he'd charge us 11 euros 40, but thought be able to get hold of spare parts from third-party suppliers. Was shocked by 30 euro callout charge from official repair people, said they don't have spare parts because Spanish law only obliges them to be held for seven years, and not in manufacturer's interest to use third-party parts supplied thereafter, as looking to install new hot-water heater instead of save planet from wreckage of old (last idea mine, actually).
Cutting long story short: local guy charges us 80 euros for two 30 km round trips to where we live, new element, bucket-full of lime cleared out of inside of heater, tap to turn off water if problem next time round, and quietly efficient and pro-active service.
My question really is:
Why can't big companies use their own employees' intelligence to assess all the needs of the clients, instead of go down the route of deciding where maximum profit/minimum effort ratio lies, proceduralising this area into a total solution script and eliminating anything else which although may serve to ADD to the sum of human happiness (employee happy for sorting out problem using own initiative, client happy 'cos problem sorted out) probably means you need better managers? (You can see question is rhetorical, can't you? Answer bloody obvious.)
[Editor's note: first published on the 25th of January 2003.]
http://www.abookandablog.com/2011/01/how-to-make-money-and-add-to-sum-of.html
Lesson 3: "In hot water again!!!"
Phoned up shop owned by local man, no logos, no secretary (wife helps out rather gently in mornings), just a business to allow him to get to end of month. Guy said if nothing to be done, he'd charge us 11 euros 40, but thought be able to get hold of spare parts from third-party suppliers. Was shocked by 30 euro callout charge from official repair people, said they don't have spare parts because Spanish law only obliges them to be held for seven years, and not in manufacturer's interest to use third-party parts supplied thereafter, as looking to install new hot-water heater instead of save planet from wreckage of old (last idea mine, actually).
Cutting long story short: local guy charges us 80 euros for two 30 km round trips to where we live, new element, bucket-full of lime cleared out of inside of heater, tap to turn off water if problem next time round, and quietly efficient and pro-active service.
My question really is:
Why can't big companies use their own employees' intelligence to assess all the needs of the clients, instead of go down the route of deciding where maximum profit/minimum effort ratio lies, proceduralising this area into a total solution script and eliminating anything else which although may serve to ADD to the sum of human happiness (employee happy for sorting out problem using own initiative, client happy 'cos problem sorted out) probably means you need better managers? (You can see question is rhetorical, can't you? Answer bloody obvious.)
[Editor's note: first published on the 25th of January 2003.]
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