Bridgestone's Law of Quality

Bridgestone is a major manufacture of tires and other rubber products.

Their "Law of Quality" was told to me by Darwin Foster, a Quality Engineer in the Automotive Industry.  I have not been able to verify it.

Bridgestone's Law of Quality

It is imperative to be highly responsive to all written communications.

For every customer letter that finds the proper person in the quality department, there are ten that were improperly addressed and did not make it to their destination.

For every ten improperly addressed letters, there are one hundred that unhappy customers either wrote, or started to write but did not get into the mail.

For every hundred who started to write a letter there are one thousand customers who are upset, they know why they are upset but do not have the energy to write a letter.

For every one thousand unhappy customers who can articulate why they are dissatisfied, there are ten thousand customers who cannot articulate why they are not satisfied.  They just know that our product is "not quality" and will not buy our product again.

So every correspondence  that makes it to our quality department must be considered a proxy for ten thousand dissatisfied customers and our response should reflect that.

The Bridgestone Law of Quality is Heinrich's Law as applied to communication.

It is similar to rings of anti-aircraft defense.  Each ring filters or attrites a percentage of the incoming aircraft.  Communication is not only subject to attrition, it is also subject to spin as illustrated by this

...And darkness was upon the face of the workers. And they spoke among themselves saying,
"It is a crock of shit and it stinketh."

And the workers went unto their supervisors and said,
"It is a bucket of dung and none may abide the odor thereof."

And the supervisor went unto their managers and said,
"It is a container of excrement and it is very strong, such that none may abide by it."

And the managers went unto their directors, saying,
"It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength."

And the directors spoke among themselves, saying to one another,
"It contains that which aids plant growth and it is very strong."

And the directors went unto the vice presidents, saying unto them,
"It promotes growth and is very powerful."

And the vice presidents went unto the president, saying unto him,
"The new plan will promote the growth and vigor of the company, with powerful effects."

And the president looked upon the plan and saw that it was good.
And the plan became policy.
This is how shit happens.