Quality in the checkout line

Writing this column once a week, I find myself looking for Quality aspects in many of the things I do each day. From one perspective, this makes sense: I have argued, after all, that Quality isn't really a set of rules or procedures (though it uses both those things), but rather is an awareness of what it takes here and now to do this task correctly. If that's the case, then Quality might just be applicable to anything you do.

Anything? Pretty close. 

The other evening I went out to get groceries. Everything was fine until I got home, when I found that they had failed to scan a dozen eggs and a package of butter. In effect, they undercharged me by $9.98. It was too late to go back that night, but I went back the next morning to tell them about the mistake and to make up the difference. They thanked me for letting them know, and said they would update their inventory; other than that, they sent me on my way. "Call it our gift to you." 

What does this story have to do with Quality? I see two principles that it is important to remember.

Don't disrupt a working process

Why did the mistake happen in the first place? The checker was in the middle of scanning my groceries when a second checker came up and offered to help. I think the second checker moved things in the cart; then the first checker concluded that if the eggs and butter were here instead of there, they must have already been scanned. It's a simple mistake to make, but the point is important: if somebody is in the middle of a procedure and it's working for them, don't interrupt without making very sure of what you are doing. It's easy to throw them off their count, or mix up their stacks, and then the procedure might be ruined. 

Of course if you are using formal, written procedures and interacting with machines that require fixed inputs, it's harder to get mixed up that way. But often you aren't, especially in small or medium-sized enterprises, or in service functions (as distinct from manufacturing). 

Keep corrective actions proportional to the problem

When I went back the next day, the store thanked me for my report but didn't take my money. Of course I appreciated their kindness, but they aren't in business to be kind. How can they afford this?

The answer is that it doesn't happen often, so they had no procedure or mechanism to make the correction. What's more, any method they tried to improvise to allow them to take my money would have cost them more than $9.98 to implement. It was—quite literally—not worth it to them to correct this particular shortfall.

Sometimes that happens, and it's good to recognize when it does. Focus your work where it matters.

So yes, there are Quality aspects even to a simple mistake in the checkout line. The awareness of the task—including awareness of what might go wrong, how to avoid it, and when not to bother—is always the most important part.