Even the Experts Still Don’t Get It

Ever wonder why product quality and customer service seem to be going downhill these days?  The answer is employee fear.  Here’s a little incident that tells you why:

A business resource website for quality experts recently required its members to update their profiles.  I dutifully updated mine and then pushed a button to make it visible to the public.  Then I got out of the site, re-entered, and searched for my profile.

NOTHING.  No sign of my profile.

So, I sent an email to tech support asking for help.  The reply was a condescending series of steps telling me what to fill into each blank in my profile, and then an admonition that if I wanted to make my profile visible, I needed to push the button next to “Make profile visible”, which is exactly what I had done.

After wasting too much time I eventually figured out that the problem was in the website design.  The profile button did not clarify whether it was

• An action button or,
• A status button.

You get opposite results depending on which it is…and there’s no way for the user to tell.  When I reported to the problem, the response was to blame the victim.

The irony of this whole episode is that this site is dedicated to quality professionals.  We are supposed to follow Deming’s principles, specifically #8:  Management must drive out fear.

Deming’s point #8 follows from the fact that at least 90% of errors are caused by the system and only management can change the system.  When a worker bee (in this case it was me, the user) uncovers an error and

1. reports it,
2. then gets blamed,
3. that creates fear. 
4. Fear makes the worker reluctant to report errors in the future. 

What is the best way for management to discover potential problems with their product or service?  The workers.  They are the ones closest to the process.  They are the ones who can perceive problems first and report them to management BEFORE they get out the door.

When workers do report errors and then get blamed for the errors, or watch as the messenger gets shot, management gets what they want, no reported errors…until the error gets out to customers.  And by then it’s too late. 

Was my situation as member of the website the same as being an employee?  Not exactly.  In fact, since I pay dues, actually I’m a customer.  But it was analogous.  Did I send this message to the association managers?  No, I’ve given up trying to change them.  I only talk to people who will listen.

Now I didn’t suffer significant fear when tech support implied that I was an idiot.  My salary, promotion prospect, and career don’t depend on that website.  But it sure reduced my incentive to continue to use the site and pay my annual dues.

If you’re a boss, pay attention to how you handle bad news.

How about you?  What’s your experience?  Comment below.