Stuck on quality

The aim
To create an atmosphere in which everyone can make decisions that will benefit the customer.

About the program
A company's major customer arrives for a show-down meeting to announce that she will be taking her business away from the company. During the meeting she points out how empowering staff to use their own discretion when making decisions enables them to provide better all-round customer satisfaction.

Measuring performance from the customer's perspective helps reveal where quality has suffered and prevent the same mistakes happening again. The objective is to replace the chain of command with a 'chain of confidence'.

The benefits

• Managers will learn that quality is a key component of customer service
• Knowing how to empower people at all levels and back their decisions will improve this service
• Demonstrating confidence in staff will also improve staff motivation, productivity and performance

Information: A Video Arts production in association with NCR, featuring Geoffrey Palmer, Jennifer Saunders and Gwen Taylor. Release date: 1991