A customer/supplier partnership: groundwork for improved report card grades

Pacific Bell began using vendor report cards as a means to provide performance feedback in 1990. One of the elements of the report card specifically measures the vendor's responsiveness to escalated problems. This item is called trouble resolution. AT&T's first grade in this area for one of its products, the 5ESS Switch, from Pacific Bell reflected poor performance, which prompted a joint effort between AT&T Customer Technical Support and the Pacific Bell Electronic Switching Assistance Center to understand and improve the performance and the grade. This joint effort spanned the period between September 1, 1990, and February 1, 1991, and was referred to as the Pacific Project. The authors describe the Pacific Project, the subsequent results, and the process changes. >