Legal Commentary

What Ever Happened To Standing Behind Your Work?

By Patrick J. Lamb

Time was, people produced things and stood behind them.  Slogans like "our name is your product" and similar sentiments were expressed as a means of assuring quality.  Those days are over.  But now it looks like the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction.  It's a sad day.

I stopped by a store at O'Hare airport moments ago to buy a pair of earbuds.  And the clerk informed that earbuds routinely failed so I should pay an extra $5 for a special guaranty that would allow me to return the apparently defective earbuds and exchange them for another pair of equally defective earbuds.  Companies have forgotten that warranties are useful for items that wear out, but EARBUDS?  I fear for the day when we'll be given the opportunity to pay a special fee to ensure against our restaurant food not being warm enough.  Or perhaps to guard against those notoriously defective toothpicks.

I hope professional service firms don't fall victim to this insanity, but I can see some large prestigious firm offering a fixed price in order to attract a piece of business, only to then suggest the client pay a fee for insurance against under-staffing.  Or some such nonsense.  Price should not be an excuse for shoddy work or defective products.  It's that simple. 

Full post as published by In Search of Perfect Client Service on February 09, 2009 (boomark / email).