Perception of Quality

My refrigerator has broken down yet again! Mom was staring at me as if I had just authorised a nuclear attack. The reason was straightforward. I bought a French door Haier about two years ago to replace her favourite Kelvinator (which was close to 15 years old). For me, it was modern technology with four doors and built-in intelligence; for her, it was replacing a trouble-free appliance with something new for no reason! So, I had to convince her of the negative effects of utilising older models on the environment, electricity consumption, and so on. Finally, I was able to persuade her to accept my reasoning.

Within six months the fridge broke down, and I had to call a service technician who blamed the ECB and replaced it. I avoided confronting Mom for the next few days to avoid any straight dialogue about the incident because the look on her face was so 'fantastic'. She continued to bemoan the food that had rotted and been thrown away as a result of this. Typical Indian mother who despises wasting anything (such mothers, believe me, make India strong). I kept implying (loudly to my neighbour uncle) that such things could happen and that it was a one-time experience. But she kept on asserting that with her older model, she never had a breakdown! Sadly, the refrigerator has again broken down for the second time in eight months. This time, the refrigerator isn't working, but thankfully the freezer is. The same mother who was bragging to her sister about her new fridge, how useful the four doors are, and so on, is now lecturing on quality and trust. She believes the brand is of poor quality, and she has warned a member of her family against buying it. While she was on the phone with her friend recounting her experience with the new refrigerator, I was looking at a Haier advertisement on Facebook about product quality. Take a look at how her perception changes over time and how tough it is to regain her trust? This is true for any customer, regardless of product or service!

Customers' perception of quality cannot be created by advertising. I didn't say this, but Steve Jobs, quoting Japanese brands, once stated this. You can't buy quality on the market; you have to create it in the minds of your customers. It's also not easy. Quality is not something you give away to customers, whether it's a product or a service; it's a right they have. Quality is not solely the duty of the quality control team; it is the joint responsibility of the entire team, from the designer to the support team, and each individual should hold quality as their guiding principle. India is now on the verge of realising its aim of becoming a global economy. Should we be more concerned about quantity or quality? If you can bring both - best, if not I believe quality is the best policy!

Note: Haier after sales service was remarkable. They could resolve the issue within 48 hours. Turned out to be a design flaw.