Creative Ways to Communicate Customer Complaints to Manufacturing.

[kreco]

Can anyone suggest or perhaps share verbally or some photos of how to creatively share customer complaints? I'm not sure what I'm looking for, but I'd like it to be a "fun" or "attractive" approach to hopefully get (and hold) peoples attention and not sound like we are "picking" on anybody. So that it doesn't become wallpaper that people stop looking at. Electronic approaches are out since many operators do not have access to those methods at the moment.

I'm more interested in
1. Communicating the concern
2. Identifying how we could have prevented it from escaping
3. Ensuring we don't do it again!

Thanks in advance!

[SteelMaiden]

Three words, ownership, responsibility, accountability.

[Sidney Vianna]

Originally Posted by kreco

I'm not sure what I'm looking for,

That makes it extra hard.

[michael.witte]

The easiest way I have found to avoid the picking on situation is to let them know about the WINS as well as the LOSSES. I usually would have a weekly meeting with the team to let them know of any issues. If there where no issues, I still have a meeting, but congratulate them. If an issue is fixed and the customer is now happy with the results, I share that as well.

[QualityNo1]

Our production team have a Tolbox meeting daily, we find this is the best avenue to discuss not only the customers, but also our own issues.
We also pass on good news and congratulations at this meeting where warranted. It seems to work well.

This week we extended an invitation to our customer (they were on site doing other things) to attend the toolbox. Good News and Not So Good News items were discussed. After the meeting, the team had a better idea of why we do what we do and what the customers expectations are.

Steve

[hogheavenfarm]

I have this problem also. I use some interesting posters, some of which I made myself, some of the ones shown previously. I take every opportunity to share good news directly with the people responsible. We created a Quality-In-Action award plaque which is given to departments or individuals who are caught performing 'outstanding acts of quality'.

[Action Mike]

Interesting question...

One of my favorite concepts is to create a "slogan" that becomes your "rallying cry" for all customer complaints. Use it as a header on reports, bulletin boards and as the title for all meeting documents, even the CAPA form itself. Somehow it should reflect a unique aspect of your company, product or industry. It could even be a unique logo graphic or a derivative of your company logo with a quality twist.

Some generic examples:

"Everyday, We Improve"
"Quality Starts Here"
"Focused On Quality"
"Opportunity to Improve"

Much like a clever advertising campaign "sticks" in your memory, your quality message needs to be promoted like an internal marketing campaign.

Finally, keep it positive. There is always a way to flip a negative message around if you work at it. The earlier post that suggested communicating your "wins" along the way is an excellent suggestion. Take "wins" further with a "Best CAPA of the Month" award internally for someone to be honored for making a good effort or setting the example for for your CAPA process, etc. Start a "Spotlight on Quality" email newsletter or interal blog to showcase great work examples that have helped achieve improvements. Buy-in may take a while, but over time you can become a champion for quality. There's a good slogan... "Quality Champions!" You could play Queen's "We are The Champions" during an award ceremony in the plant.

[Craig H.]

Originally Posted by Action Mike

Interesting question...

One of my favorite concepts is to create a "slogan" that becomes your "rallying cry" for all customer complaints. Use it as a header on reports, bulletin boards and as the title for all meeting documents, even the CAPA form itself. Somehow it should reflect a unique aspect of your company, product or industry. It could even be a unique logo graphic or a derivative of your company logo with a quality twist.

Some generic examples:

"Everyday, We Improve"
"Quality Starts Here"
"Focused On Quality"
"Opportunity to Improve"

Much like a clever advertising campaign "sticks" in your memory, your quality message needs to be promoted like an internal marketing campaign.

Finally, keep it positive. There is always a way to flip a negative message around if you work at it. The earlier post that suggested communicating your "wins" along the way is an excellent suggestion. Take "wins" further with a "Best CAPA of the Month" award internally for someone to be honored for making a good effort or setting the example for for your CAPA process, etc. Start a "Spotlight on Quality" email newsletter or interal blog to showcase great work examples that have helped achieve improvements. Buy-in may take a while, but over time you can become a champion for quality. There's a good slogan... "Quality Champions!" You could play Queen's "We are The Champions" during an award ceremony in the plant.

Hey, Mike. Slogans have a way of being twisted on the shop floor. Whenever I get a complaint, the first thing I ask from the customer is a digital picture(s). Showing the picture to those involved internally, along with a description of the complaint, works well.

Sloganeering assumes that the guys doing the work don't care. As one of them at one time, let me assure that most of them care about their work more than you can imagine. And most of them get really pissed off when some management type comes up with a slogan or program of the month. With me, when I was on the floor, it became time to come up with the best anti-slogan that would elicit the most laughs. I was fairly successful at this, I must say.

Figure out what your problems are, and help the folks who really give a crap some direction on how to address those problems.

We do have a suggestion system, with a monthly reward, and it works well. The toaster oven, cooler, or whatever does not mean as much to these folks as the recognition. And, when one of their suggestions is adopted and works, a $10,000 award would pale in contrast to the pride they feel, and, the $10,000 (or better) savings gets passed along to all of us via paychecks and retirement.

I am just saying that your efforts could be focused a little better...

Just my opinion, of course.