3.3a The Concept of Quality

Customer Expectations

Customers expect quality products and services.

Quality service: the service provided must be fit for purpose and of an acceptable standard.

Example: a taxi should be on time, clean, and driven courteously.

Business Benefits

Increased custom: repeat sales from satisfied customers, and new custom due to recommendations.

Higher price: customers may be likely to pay more for better quality products / service.

The Costs of Maintaining Quality

There are additional costs involved in maintaining quality. These can be placed in four categories: staff training, higher wages, quality assurance, and discarding defects.

Staff Training

Ensuring staff…

Are knowledgeable about products and services offered by the business
Understand how to look after customers
Know how to do their job well.

Higher Wages

Staff who are skilled and understand quality will often command higher wages. This is because…

Skills are in demand by other businesses, so pay must be competitive to recruit and retain staff
Trained staff are more efficient, so the business will see higher wages as an investment in productivity
Skilled staff who are paid commission or piece-work rates will sell / produce more and will therefore earn more.

Quality Assurance

Quality assurance is when the product is checked for quality at every stage of production. This increases costs because:

Additional staff or equipment is needed to checks products and services
Staff must be trained to identify defects
Checking slows-down production, making the business less efficient

Discarding Defects

If a product is below the agreed standard, it must be removed…

It may be possible to correct the defect, but this will take time and may require additional resources
If the defect cannot be corrected, it will probably be thrown away. Businesses have to pay for rubbish collection and disposal
Discarding an item wastes the materials, labour, and resources used to create it.