[PCT Commercial Summit Review] What is Quality?

Quality is much easier said than defined. During my presentation "Understanding The Role of The Quality Assurance Manager" at the PCT Commercial Pest Management Summit in December, I asked the audience to define "service quality" in six words or less, in two minutes or less, and to write it down. Let’s examine the results from these commercial pest management professionals.

The most common words recorded for "service quality" were:

Although there were many additional words defining quality, I only selected words that were repeated. The high caliber of this audience was proven with the leading definition of "meets or exceeds customer needs/expectations." This is a professional definition of quality.

When one attempts to define "quality service," the best approach is to think at two levels:

1. Level one quality is delivering services whose measurable characteristics, and/or attributes, satisfy a fixed set of specifications, and/or standards that are usually numerically defined.

2. Level two quality is delivering services that satisfy customer expectations.

So what is quality in six words? My definition is one that will work most anytime, anywhere. Quality meets requirements and exceeds customer expectations. There are two words in this definition that are critical: for quality to be delivered and received. Those words are requirements and expectations.

"Requirements" consist of multiple facets, such as the obvious customer requirements in the form of specifications, standards, protocols, etc. These are more objective in nature. Considerations also should be given to the service provider’s requirements, any regulatory specs and/or third party inspection agencies, if applicable. These conditions should be clarified, be measurable and be understood in order to fully define conformance to meeting customer requirements.

"Expectations" are based on customer satisfaction. These are more subjective in nature. Examples were plentiful at the PCT Summit survey (e.g., reliability, dependable, etc.). Some other subjective words listed included ethical, reputable, proactive, cleanliness and empathetic.

The list would be long and diverse if you asked every person in the world for a word or two defining service quality. Many words would be synonymous or similar in meaning, but there would certainly be great variation in many people’s view of quality service. Have you heard the phrase "in the eyes of the beholder"? It is important to understand that subjectivity of customer expectations is "in the eyes of the beholder" and that beholder is the customer. Quality does not happen by accident — it is the result of intelligent effort. Not to make things more difficult, but the "in the eyes of the beholder" changes over time. Therefore, effective communication is critical to exceeding customer expectations.(continued below)

Communication is multifaceted. The most common communication is "person to person." Sometimes overlooked are the listening skills that help to make a good communicator. Sometimes, even more overlooked, is the importance of documentation skills, including legibility and detail. Please note that the documentation of a pest management service provider may be a representation of that individual’s commitment to customer quality.

It is important to note that wisdom is the ability to determine what is significant, and discipline is the ability to do what needs to be done. You can do this by meeting requirements and exceeding customer expectations. If you do this, then you have a good understanding of quality.