I
recently had the honor of attending the awards ceremony for the 1999 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in Washington. All of quality's best and brightest were in attendance: award winners (past and present), quality gurus, state quality award leaders, award examiners and judges, Secretary of Commerce William Daley, and President Clinton. The Secret Service, the Marine Corps Band and the president's honor guard were also there. It was quite a spectacle, full of pomp and circumstance.
I would have thought that such a collection of bright, highly educated, highly trained professionals would have had the sense to leave when the fire alarm went off. Wrong! The
events that unfolded during the ceremony were shining examples of poor service quality and excellent service quality: You judge which were which. About 500 people were crowded
into the ballroom of Washington's Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, anxiously awaiting the President's arrival. When "Hail to the Chief" began, we leapt to our feet to catch a glimpse of President
Clinton. The ceremony went well at first, a testimony to the hard work and planning of the very talented staff at the Baldrige Award office. Secretary Daley began with a short
speech full of praise for the winning companies (and for the Clinton administration). Next, the CEOs of the four winning companies each gave short speeches. The President presented each winning
company with its award. Secretary Daley then introduced the President. As soon as the President began to speak, a high-pitched noise began blaring in the ballroom. The usually
unflappable Clinton looked confused. He made a joke or two and, after a minute, asked, "Would somebody please tell me what's going on?" No one told him a thing. The Secret Service didn't make a
move. After another minute or two, Secret Service agents made their way around the large room and covered up each of the shrieking alarms. Another minute went by and the President asked: "Is this
a fire alarm? Do we need to leave the building?" Again, no one answered him. After another minute or two, three firemen walked into the room. Again, the President asked: "Is this a fire alarm? Do
we need to leave the building?" One of the firemen addressed the group: "Would everyone please calmly exit the building immediately." Only then did the Secret Service spring into action, whisking
the President out of the room and into his waiting limousine, which quickly sped away. The rest of the attendees made their way to the parking lot and waited for about 30 minutes before we were
allowed back into the hotel. There had been a small fire in the hotel laundry room, which is some distance away from the ballroom. A number of people grumbled that the hotel
shouldn't have evacuated the ballroom. In fact, one unhappy woman berated a hotel employee for not having an emergency plan. She was upset that the ceremony had been cut short. I, on the other
hand, was happy it was cut short: When it comes to fires, I think it's best to err on the side of caution. And I think the hotel had a pretty good plan: When in doubt, get people out. I was amazed by the Secret Service, however. The very people who are supposed to protect the President with their lives actually covered up screeching fire alarms. Why didn't
they take charge and usher the President out of potential harm's way? Why didn't they evacuate the ballroom? You'd think that when the leader of the free world asks, "Is this a fire alarm? Do we
need to leave the building?" that someone (especially the Secret Service) would have an answer. |
