Skip to main content

Day 7: A for Anatomy of Perfection

Image
By
I have a friend who loves McDonald's. Not in the offhanded way we all do. But genuine heartfelt love, which entails him using phrases such as "it makes my heart sing" and McDonald's in the same sentence. He dreams of owning a McDonald's franchisee one day, not in the least for the endless supply of chicken nuggets, but just for the pride he would feel in owning the brand he loves.



After hearing him declare this undying love, I started doing my own discrete surveys and came to the startling conclusion that no one hates McDonald's. Sure, you don't meet people who want to own McDonald's merchandise everyday. But people who absolutely hate McDonald's? You won't meet those either. Sure, their food is unhealthy. They sell fat disguised as beautiful burgers. They are evil. But they never taste bad, do they? 



Rory Sutherland, one of my favourite columnists describes the economic principle of satisficers and maximisers using McDonald's. Maximisers try to maximise utility. Satisficers (derived from satisfy + suffice) just want the bare minimum to remain satisfied. The very fact that McDonald's exist is proof of satisficing. They get away doing just enough to not be hated. And best of all, in no city is McDonald's the best or the worst restaurant. In cities where vegetarians don't get even a single option, the bright yellow arches welcome them with irresistible golden oil soaked fries. 



Maybe we got the idea of perfection all wrong. It's not about making a flawless product. It's about lowering customer expectations to such a low that the mere adherence to basics consistently makes customers happy.



For instance, hypothetically speaking - "Government services are so bureaucratic. But hey, I got my passport in just one week. Yay!"



Or hypothetically speaking again, "This car is so polluting, but hey, it's safe." #NotVolkswagon



Or, "This flight is so cramped, but hey, atleast it doesn't crash." #Boink



The point is, there's some merit to products, services and people who don't overperform, and yet, deliver the very least expected of them. Not everyone can be an Apple, can they? 



In the spirit of this new definition of perfection, here's to all things that few people love, and even fewer hate! 

 Noisy auto-rickshaws, the left half of the bell curve, vanilla ice-cream, plain salted chips, salted popcorn, Bata shoes, tomato soup, Wednesdays, Tottenham and the colour beige. May you all find the love that McDonald's found in my friend. 



Godspeed. (Not too fast, not too slow. Just fast enough.)



Labels:

Comments

  1. DITuesday, April 02, 2019

    'It's about lowering customer expectations to such a low that the mere adherence to basics consistently makes customers happy.'

    Hahaha! Truer words weren't said. And frankly, this is not just for products or services or customers - I think this is pretty much life's mantra. Just have fewer expectations and watch how happiness comes your way, and just how perfect life seems! :D I truly, honestly, believe in this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PreetiTuesday, April 02, 2019

      That's so true. I have never tried jit, but intuitively it makes sense. Why have high expectations, when you can be happier with none! That's the new motto then 😁

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Letters to the Upparwalla!

By
(Wow! BlogAdda made my day! :) ) Prologue: I have been SO so SO so lazy, busy and blank, that I stopped writing posts altogether. But then, on reflection, I thought I owed this one to the unseen forces above. Hence, this post! LETTER #1 To The Gods Above, 1, "All Roads Lead to Heaven" Road, Heaven - 000000 15.06.2010 From Un Faithful Earthling Somewhere on Earth - Does the pin code matter? Sir/Ma'am, SUB: Complaint Regarding Services Rendered             This is to bring to your kind attention, the highly unsatisfactory services being rendered to me, not at all in keeping with the Contract signed during my release to the Earth. Further, I wish to register a complaint regarding the following key issues: Interaction With Irritating People : According to Clause 4 of my Contract which you have also signed, it was mutually agreed by both parties, that during my peaceful stay on Earth, my interaction with irritating peo...
61 comments
Read more

The Truant Family!

By
The low hanging trees were always in demand. As Raji rushed for the nearest one, with her little brother in her tow, she cast a quick glance at the tree to survey the bounty. It was laden with fresh guavas, alright! Pumped, she put her foot on the lowest branch and pulled herself up. Raji had barely put her foot on the next branch, when she felt a tug on her skirt. Feeling a nudge of irritation, she peered down at her four year old brother. "What is it, Appu?" "Where's my guava?" he demanded. "Will you at least wait while I climb up?" She resumed her climb up carefully, so as not to tear her skirt. The trick was to choose the right branches.She had barely moved up one level, when she felt a tug again. She looked around for the nearest ripe guava and hurled it before Appu could speak.She heard his chuckles of delight as he dug into large juicy bites. That settled, she ensconced in a comfortable branch, and began her feast of the large, ripe guavas. S...
50 comments
Read more

The Battle of the Cities

By
"Aasmaan Se Tapka, Khajoor Ke Ped Pe Latka" How else would explain my wonderful vacation, moving from one hothouse called Delhi to another called Hyderabad? To be fair, I never thought I was going to a hill-station or Switzerland. But a cooler Hyderabad would have been so much more fun! Cities have their own ways of growing on you. Or of not growing, but clawing at you. Either way, you cannot ignore some cities. Hyderabad is one of them. 20 years, and our love-hate match continues. Day 1 is always the day of the bungle before the war. I emerge from the airport, all optimistic, with brushed up Telugu skills and renewed love for the hometown. Half an hour later, on the top of the long snake-like flyover, enroute to the city, the anger begins to kick in. Conversations with drivers. That's when I realize the war is on. I speak my posh, broken Telugu, and the drivers, their rude, unbroken Telugu. At some point, I try putting up a white flag and shift to Hindi politely. To n...
41 comments
Read more