When Defective Products Are Services

If a transaction has too many defects, shouldn’t it be recalled?

According to a recent press report, it may soon become mandatory for automobile companies in India to recall vehicles if they receive 100 or more complaints about the same problem. From time to time, we hear about manufacturing companies—most visibly in the auto industry—recalling their products for repair or a part replacement after a quality problem is detected.

Granted, a defective car or washing machine can be a safety hazard, and this may explain the prevalence of recall in such products. But this got me thinking: What about service industries? Can we have an equivalent of vehicle recall in services?

If you were a customer of an insurance company, hotel, or bank, wouldn’t you deserve a quality, defect-free service, just like a car buyer deserves a defect-free vehicle? Shouldn’t you have recourse to some form of relief similar to vehicle recall?

…

Want to continue?

By logging in you agree to receive communication from Quality Digest. Privacy Policy.

Create a FREE account

Forgot My Password

Comments

Defective transactions are usually not recalled

According to my experience, transactions' parameters are often so complex that they aren't written on paper so that nobody can point a finger on any line and say "you didn't comply with it". Banks, insurance companies, even employers adopt multi-pages contract forms that nobody has the time to read, let alone to understand but they have to be signed. I would personally suggest that when a contractual paper is longer than 2 or 3 pages, it has simply to be scrapped, just the same as the proposed transaction.

Ethical element

I think three, if not all four, of your examples bring in ethical questions. There is a huge difference between sending out defect products/services intentionally and due to imperfections in the system.