Quality control: ConsistencyIn some business, such as the food service industry, the consistency of a product contributes greatly to customer satisfaction. When a customer orders a particular menu ite

Quality control: ConsistencyIn some business, such as the food service industry, the consistency of a product contributes greatly to customer satisfaction. When a customer orders a particular menu item on a regular basis, he or she expects to receive a product that has approximately the same taste and appearance each time. The challenge for a national chain is not only to have a single worker be consistent but also to have thousands of workers nationwide produce the same menu item with little variation in taste and appearance.

1. The quality of some products, such as coffee and French fries, deteriorates quickly as the finished product is waiting to be purchased. Visit a coffee house or fast-food restaurant and ask specific questions about steps taken to guarantee a fresh product. If a customer complains that a product has been sitting too long, how have the employees been instructed to respond? Is there a policy regarding how many complaints must be received before a product is thrown out and a new batch made?

2. Visit a popular national chain restaurant and ask about measures taken to ensure consistency of portion size, flavor, and attractiveness of menu items among restaurants in the chain. Be sure to ask about vendors who supply the components of a dish. Does the chain allow for regional variations in the menu? If so, to what degree? Does the national chain have a system in place to check for consistency? If so, how does it work?

3. Did either of the establishments you visited indicate the use of statistical method sin checking for quality? If so, what were the methods? Identify at least one way each of the two places you visited could use control charts to track the quality of a product.

4. If you could not get enough info to answer questions above, you can use internet to find some information about quality control for a particular chain company, for a coffee or a fast-food restaurant. And try to answer questions.