3 Easy Steps to a Higher-Quality Business

By Charlie Byrne
"Here, try these on so we know they fit," my wife gently commanded me.

Knowing we were heading up to Maine, Peggy had ordered me four wool shirts.

Now I was dreading the new-shirt routine. You know. Pull out the pins. Remove the plastic tab from the front of the collar, also pinned in. Take out the cardboard ring around the rest of the collar. Feel around until you find the one or two "hidden" pins... and hope you don't prick your finger in the process.

But wait. What's this?

I removed the plastic wrap and nearly fell to the floor in shock. Where were the pins? The shirt was simply folded together, neatly and firmly. It was ready to wear in 10 seconds.

What were all those pins for anyway? I never quite understood. And now LL Bean's gotten rid of them.

LL Bean is one of my favorite retailers. They know how to dazzle their customers - just by making simple changes like this.

How do they know which changes to make? I'm guessing they have a system in place that goes something like this...

Quality-Improvement Step #1: Take the time to put yourself through your customer's shopping experience. (Anonymously, of course.) Purchase a product. Use it. Call Customer Service with tough questions. Try to return it.

Quality-Improvement Step #2: Make a list of anything that was annoying or inconvenient.

Quality-Improvement Step #3: Gather your team, review the list, and come up with better alternatives.

The beauty of this system is that sometimes even the simplest changes can make a bigger difference than you might imagine.

Take a hard look at all the things you do because "it's always been that way" - and see if you can do better. Then use this easy three-step method to distinguish your company from the rest of the pack.
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This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2211, 11-28-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.