I know that many of my friends in quality are active in the support of community charities, as am I. I think a lot of us view this work as just an extension of the desire we have to improve things: organizations, processes, and even others' circumstances.
I was humbled last year to realize that I failed to apply a very fundamental quality principle to many of my community efforts -- listening to the voice of the customer. After donating to a local food bank for many years, I was dismayed at what I discovered on my first visit there. (Up until that time, I had just dropped off food items but hadn't spoken with the other volunteers who ran the center, stocked the shelves, and made arrangements to distribute the food to the community members in need.) I found that many of the items I routinely donated were always in overabundance for their demand. Other items I would never have thought of were highly sought after. And another assumption on my part regarding convenience was quickly challenged. Many of the recipients do not have a microwave, so some of the items are actually quite difficult for them to make using a hot plate.
I've seen this same phenomenon happen at work. Bright, well-intentioned people instinctively know what the customer wants. We don't need to ask or to verify. <sigh!> While I would never have approached my job without a conscious effort to obtain current VOC, I missed its very real application to my community support activities.
Have any of you had one of these eye-opening (and humbling!) experiences? Can we learn from them?
