Question

(1) What do you think companies should learn from COVID-19 about the importance of improving the reliability of their products and services? And how can they improve the reliability of their products and services? Do you have any suggestions?

Answer 1

Reliability has always been the deciding factor of growth for an organization and the importance of it has only heightened during the current pandemic wherein everyone is acting irrationally and the behavior of customers is driven by a high amount of skepticism and are very cynical about businesses, their products, and services. Businesses around the world are shut and are consistently looking at how to cope up with the Post-Covid situation wherein customers will be wary to take products like they were used to, wherein customers and other stakeholders will not be taking anything at its face value. Reliability is the quotient of service quality which makes businesses deliver their services accurately and dependably and how much can stakeholders rely on it. Businesses will need to pull their socks so as to be socially responsible citizens because as we are grappling with Covid 19, various statements from world leaders and renowned virologists are coming that how this might have started from the Wuhan virus when they acted carelessly and how China lied to the people that this is not contagious, it, therefore, calls on businesses to improve their corporate governance and ponder how the mistake of one person be fatal. Businesses need to fully disclose their affairs that if concealed might pose the risk, actual or perceived.

Following are the ways by which they can improve the reliability of their products and services:

• Disclose the information to the customers and other stakeholders which can be fatal if concealed.
• Improve your systems, processes, and functions in the packaging and design of the product.
• Reduce the congestion in malls and business places and consider Social distancing an aesthetic part of your business models. Discuss ways wherein products can be delivered by reliable business partners without the involvement of untrustworthy third parties.
• Make your customers part of the process by sharing them how the product is transformed from raw material to a valuable product and what precautions are taken during the process by sharing the safety standard operating procedure.
• Tie up with impartial rating agencies and get the reliability of your products audited from them and share the same with stakeholders.

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