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Sexier than George Clooney and Barry White

17 April, 2011 by James Lawther Leave a Comment

A new phone

I am in the market for a new phone for my home.

I found a lovely one.  The Bang and Olufsen Beocom 2

When I use it I will look more sophisticated than George Clooney and sound mellower than Barry White.  Women will fall at my feet.  It is a must have item.

I had to have it so I asked how much, the reply was £750… which it must be said is a lot for a phone, it is difficult not to look like a cheap skate when the price sends you into a coughing fit.

Objection handling

Noticing my hesitancy the sales man started to give me the full pitch.  Apparently the phone matches the curve of the human face and is carved from a single piece of aluminium.  Sensing that the sale was closed, and that I was reaching for my credit card, the sales man delivered his piece de la resistance…

The phone is so hard to make that they have to have the most stringent quality control to remove the defects.

The aim of this line was no doubt to reassure me of the phones rarity.

Lost sale

Knowing how bad quality control is at spotting defects, I thrust my wallet back in my pocket and walked.

Why on earth would I spend that much money on a phone that they can’t make properly?

If B&O focused on removing the need for quality control rather than using it as a sales pitch it would do marvels for their margins,  and I would look like George Clooney

Image via Matt Kieffer

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: capability, cost saving, quality control, revenue generation, video, waste

About the Author

James Lawther
James Lawther

James Lawther is a middle-aged, middle manager.

To reach this highly elevated position he has worked in numerous industries, from supermarket retailing to tax collecting.  He has had several operational roles, including running the night shift in a frozen pea packing factory and carrying out operational research for a credit card company.

As you can see from his C.V. he has either a wealth of experience or is incapable of holding down a job.  If the latter is true this post isn’t worth a minute of your attention.

Unfortunately, the only way to find out is to read it and decide for yourself.

www.squawkpoint.com/

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