67 Make process simple!

Creative Gorilla #67 By reducing a process to its fewest steps, keeping it simple, you can reap a number of benefits…  “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” Albert Einstein Are your processes simple? Here’s a good news story. My paper shredder broke down. The motor ran but the paper didn’t shred and I delayed calling the manufacturer for a while because I have had some bad experiences with equipment service organisations and didn’t want hassle. I anticipated the usual array of excuses why they couldn’t do anything: I must have pushed a sheet of aluminium through the shredder; the shredder only shreds papyrus made by Ancient Egyptians; the warranty is only valid in the grouse shooting season etc. So I procrastinated and eventually my wife telephoned. So where is the good news? “No problem”, the manufacturer said. “We’ll send you a new one,” which they did. And the old one? “Throw it away.”  So we kept the bin and recycled the rest. “That is so unfair,” I thought, “why was I not the recipient of that great piece of customer service? And why do other companies not do this?”  That set me thinking about the benefits to them. These include: They have a raving fan who is writing about them (the manufacturer is Fellowes) which should improve sales They probably have low turnover of customer service staff as they deal with delighted customers not grumpy people Repeat calls will be fewer so they need fewer staff Supervisors and senior managers are not dragged in to a dispute They know exactly how much the problem...