There’s a lot been going on recently. From the advertisement Pepsi did with Kendall Jenner to the United Airlines fiasco…
Now, the reason why i’m sharing these two is because there were some key mistakes made. Key, fundamental, school-boy errors. I’m not going to list all the errors, as these have been covered by various other folks and websites, but there’s one that I would like to highlight.
Quality control.
Yep. Quality control. Before you get into a place to take off, there’s a hundred and one checks made. Why? To check everything is correct.
Before a car is delivered to a new customer, there’s a number of checks made. Why? To ensure everything is correct, in order and maybe checked against a check list, so the customer has the best car, best experience, best… everything! Because that same customer will more than likely come back if everything is perfect.
This then begs the question, where was the ‘quality control’ when United Airlines first had to take passengers off the plane? – or should i ask, HOW they take them off the plane.
Then came the CEO and his ‘announcements’. Where was the ‘quality control’ in ensuring what was being communicated echoed the companies core principles –
We Fly Together
As a united United, we respect every voice, communicate openly and honestly, make decisions with facts and empathy, and celebrate our journey together.
Let’s switch to Pepsi. Where was the ‘quality control’ over the advert? – didn’t someone check to ensure it would not hurt feelings, it was communicating the right message? Was it just one person checking it? – remember, this is where diversity comes into play. Different background and different cultures provide different views, which should all be valued.
The levels of Quality Control differ from industry to industry… I remember whilst working at GlaxoSmithKline – a large pharmaceutical company, you can imagine, the QC was number 1 priority. Everything was controlled. Everything was checked. Everything is verified. And there’s good reasons for this to happen.
You many not have this level of quality control in, lets say, if you’re a music producer. Not being experienced in this field, but i’m guessing, you make a track, play it to a few people, get a few thoughts and reactions, make sure it sounds good on a variety of speakers (headphones, big speakers, etc…) and then release it. But then, i have heard some terrible songs, and i do think what happened to the honest feedback (or the Quality Control by the record label).
So, whatever you do… think first, check second and feedback third. Put in whatever quality checks, controls and measures you need so you don’t end up doing this…
