Do-It-Yourself Curmudgeons
As I troll around the DIY space, I sometimes come across articles that speak negatively about the DIY economy and culture. For example, Ed Quillen, a Denver Post columnist, railed against DIY in his 12/21/05 article "More Assembly Required". Similarly, Cathy Weaver from the Greensboro News & Record aired her complaints in the 4/25/05 "Do It Yourself? Don't, and Do Yourself A Favor".
Their arguments are typical. First, the expertise gap: trying to fix something at home to save money, then botch the job due to lack of expertise (requiring a call to a professional to fix it right). Second, the inconvenience gap: being dressed up for a night on the town, but then suffering the indignity of having to fill the car with fuel and end up smelling like gas. Third, the luddite gap: buying a computer accessory that has the user manual on CD-ROM, then trying to print and assemble a paper user manual yourself. Let's look at these one at a time.
The Expertise Gap
If customers don't have expertise, they can't perform. It's that simple. If economically viable, companies will provide customer education so customers can build expertise. However, customers should be self-aware of what they can and can't do. And if they have never done something before, they should get someone who has to help them. Watching DIY shows on TV and reading DIY develops one's knowledge, but it doesn't develop skill. Only hands-on practice with appropriate feedback can develop skill.
The Inconvenience Gap
What can I say -- PLAN AHEAD. Why do people place blame elsewhere when the cause of their inconvenience is their own lack of action? You never want to do things yourself when it is not convenient to do so. Quillen knows he is going out. He probably knows his car is low on fuel. He knows all the gas stations in Colorado are self service. Why didn't Quillen think to fill his car with gas the day or morning BEFORE his big night on the town? He blames the self-service industry for his own lack of forethought. Yet, if the punishment of having a gas smell on his clothes doesn't change how he thinks about his performance, I don't know what will.
The Luddite Gap
I'm a bit more forgiving in this area. People are hesitant or slow to change their ways. I know I can be. However, also consider that new ways of doing things are typically done for a reason. It should be obvious that replacing a printed user manual with a CD-ROM-based manual has many significant economic and societal benefits. Less paper, less chemicals, less shipping costs, better product price, increased producer margins, and so on. I admit that for those of us conditioned to read things on paper, it is difficult to read things electronically. A generation from now, it won't be a problem. Quillen has the choice to change his ways, or spend an hour printing and binding his own user manual. He chose wrong, and I think society and the environment suffers from his choice.
I think what these stories show correlates well with research. If customers perform well, they praise themselves. If they don't, they blame the company or industry. Coproduction experiences must provide customers what they need to perform. However, customers must recognize when they don't have the expertise, when they need to plan ahead, and when they need to change.
(Copyright 2005, Honebein Associates, Inc.)
Their arguments are typical. First, the expertise gap: trying to fix something at home to save money, then botch the job due to lack of expertise (requiring a call to a professional to fix it right). Second, the inconvenience gap: being dressed up for a night on the town, but then suffering the indignity of having to fill the car with fuel and end up smelling like gas. Third, the luddite gap: buying a computer accessory that has the user manual on CD-ROM, then trying to print and assemble a paper user manual yourself. Let's look at these one at a time.
The Expertise Gap
If customers don't have expertise, they can't perform. It's that simple. If economically viable, companies will provide customer education so customers can build expertise. However, customers should be self-aware of what they can and can't do. And if they have never done something before, they should get someone who has to help them. Watching DIY shows on TV and reading DIY develops one's knowledge, but it doesn't develop skill. Only hands-on practice with appropriate feedback can develop skill.
The Inconvenience Gap
What can I say -- PLAN AHEAD. Why do people place blame elsewhere when the cause of their inconvenience is their own lack of action? You never want to do things yourself when it is not convenient to do so. Quillen knows he is going out. He probably knows his car is low on fuel. He knows all the gas stations in Colorado are self service. Why didn't Quillen think to fill his car with gas the day or morning BEFORE his big night on the town? He blames the self-service industry for his own lack of forethought. Yet, if the punishment of having a gas smell on his clothes doesn't change how he thinks about his performance, I don't know what will.
The Luddite Gap
I'm a bit more forgiving in this area. People are hesitant or slow to change their ways. I know I can be. However, also consider that new ways of doing things are typically done for a reason. It should be obvious that replacing a printed user manual with a CD-ROM-based manual has many significant economic and societal benefits. Less paper, less chemicals, less shipping costs, better product price, increased producer margins, and so on. I admit that for those of us conditioned to read things on paper, it is difficult to read things electronically. A generation from now, it won't be a problem. Quillen has the choice to change his ways, or spend an hour printing and binding his own user manual. He chose wrong, and I think society and the environment suffers from his choice.
I think what these stories show correlates well with research. If customers perform well, they praise themselves. If they don't, they blame the company or industry. Coproduction experiences must provide customers what they need to perform. However, customers must recognize when they don't have the expertise, when they need to plan ahead, and when they need to change.
(Copyright 2005, Honebein Associates, Inc.)
posted by Peter Honebein at 3:48 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home