Chapter 30. Go to the Gemba

How much are your favorite pants worth? A judge in Washington, D.C. made headlines when he filed a $54 million lawsuit against his neighborhood dry cleaner that he accused of losing a pair of his pinstriped suit pants. He claimed that a D.C. consumer protection law entitled him to thousands of dollars for each day over nearly four years in which signs at the shop promised “same day service” and “satisfaction guaranteed.” The suit dragged on for several months, but at the end of the day, the plaintiff went home with empty pockets.

If you’re not happy with a product or service, what can you do about it? You have three possible courses of action (though sometimes you can take more than one).

  • Voice response—You can appeal ...

Get The Truth About What Customers Want now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.