Print
Solutions February 2006
433
East Monroe
Cruising
for Quality
I
don’t have the best luck
buying cars. My first, an ’83
Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, came
from a guy who parked it outside
my polling place on Election Day.
He said he inherited it from his
deceased mother-in-law, who drove
it to the grocery store once a
week. Four years and thousands
of dollars in repairs later, the
engine breathed its last, and
I had the car towed. I replaced
it with a ’95 Ford Tempo
that, over the long term, also
cost me more in repairs than the
amount I paid for the car itself.
I turned that one over to a junkyard,
where it was promptly stolen and
taken on several joyrides around
Washington, D.C. I know this because
the city, unable to track down
anyone else, mailed me two speeding
tickets and a parking violation.
It
has been two years since I last
owned a car. Everything I need
is within walking distance or
a quick bus ride, so only recently
did I decide to test my luck.
In the process of reading car
reviews, meeting with owners,
talking to dealers and taking
test drives, I’ve clarified
my definitions of quality and
value. They’re concepts
that we all use to make buying
decisions, but what do they really
mean? To me, a quality car is
one that won’t fall apart,
and I value its reliability more
than anything else.
For
printers, distributors and end
users, quality and value have
different meanings. They’re
broad terms, but some companies
strive to make their meanings
clearer. After all, if you sell
to your customers by promising
quality and value, you better
have something to show for it.
A few companies have backed their
claims by instituting quality
management programs. We profile
a few in this month’s cover
story “Building Quality
Into Your Company,” beginning
on p. 30. The examples in this
story demonstrate that quality
is more than a concept. It’s
specific policies and procedures
that are measureable.
Instituting
a quality management program is
like buying a car. Neither can
be done haphazardly. To do it
right takes research, planning
and a financial commitment. I’ve
learned my lesson. The next time
you see me behind the wheel, I
won’t be on my way to the
mechanic.
Andrew
Brown
Assistant
Editor
