Next event

DATE:     Wednesday, January 23, 2008

The networking event will start by Raymond Dyer, ASQ Montreal Section 0401 Program Chair, following up on some comments made back in the September 2007 Networking event and then facilitating a very brief feedback session.

Afterwards, Six Sigma Subject Matter Expert Reynald Régnus will share with us some of the more interesting observations and findings he discovered while conducting an online survey on “Six Sigma Projects”.

Reynald has been an excellent supporter of our ASQ section, helping us align topics and speakers for the joint ASQ Montreal Sections conference that was held back in November 2006. It is indeed with great pleasure that we have him participate again in our activities and provide us some insight into what makes or breaks Six Sigma Projects.

Bring your business cards and be ready to network!

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The Editor's Corner

A Word from your Section Chair

Customer complains - Customer helps.

I went on a one-week trip during the Holidays with the same airline company I have been using quite frequently for the last 5 years. While on the plane, I could not help noticing small changes, particularly in the service. Changes that were certainly not there since my last trip. Changes like a hot meal instead of the usual cold hamburger, bags of goodies for the kids, more blankets for when the temperature of the cabin gets colder, quicker service from flight attendants, etc. These small things definitely improve passenger comfort. Mentioning my observations to the lady sitting next to me, I learned that those improvements were the result of many customer complaints to the Management and also the result of an increasingly high number of passengers switching to the competitor, even though the competitor’s prices were slightly higher.

I did not mention it to my neighbor but curiously I myself had started planning changing airline company exactly because of those small things that kept bothering me during each trip. Now that my trip seemed more enjoyable, with the kids being kept busy and a hot meal, I was no longer thinking of switching to the competitor. One more customer retained.

The story repeats itself over and over in all sorts of industries.

Each time a customer files a complaint, it is a real and clear opportunity to improve and to stay in business. Major corporations are often well equipped to manage complaints and they also often treat them as what they really are, opportunities for improvement. Small companies, on the other hand, can be frustrated by customer complaints and can sometimes take it personal. In those cases, asking customers for suggestions might be a good method. By ‘going first’ not only do you prevent bitter and impatient comments from customers, you also increase customer retention because some customers will not complain, they will just switch to the competitor like I had planned to do! A customer who complains is often a customer who wants to keep using your product or service.

Before leaving, do not forget to attend our second Networking event on January 23rd at the Hilton hotel. It will be an opportunity to learn from one another, to open new doors, and maybe to improve what we have been doing.

Happy New Year 2008.

This season’s planned events

Welcome to our new members

Sustaining Members

Had You Attended the Last Event

You can’t leave this world unless all the paper work is done

Maybe you heard that interesting ideas often come from odd places. I attended the Mouvement Québécois de la qualité’s 15th «Salon sur les meilleures pratiques d’affaires 2007». Yes, time flies — the MQQ celebrates twenty-five years and it is their fifteenth event.

Amongst the different booths, I stumbled onto Magnus Poirier — Yes, the undertaker. Definitely not your average enterprise — Well, actually, yes. They have 80 employees at 8 sites throughout the city, various products, services, suppliers, lots and lots of paperwork and many different institutions to deal with. Also, dare I say it, a growing client base (think baby boomers, yours truly included). All the right ingredients for potential delays, errors and frustrations at the worst of times for grieving families.

So, in 2002, they embarked on a process improvement system that has resulted in a 30% productivity gain, an optimisation and standardisation of their processes, giving them a competitive advantage and improved response time. The greatest result, I was told, was a better relationship with their clients. 

Full article

Notes from our 19 September 2007 Networking Event

ASQ Montreal Section Education Program 2007-2008

Questions? In house courses, etc.: David Tozer:  (514) 694-2830, mailto:davidtozer@qualitiqua.com

Executive Committee Meetings

ASQ Certification & Recertification

Please note: Exam dates may be revised by ASQ at any time.  For the latest dates, please contact ASQ at 1-800-248-1946.
For members interested in preparing their journals for recertification, please contact Norman Dickinson, Recertification Chair, at telephone: (514) 334-6102 or e-mail: n.dickinson@alumni.concordia.ca .

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