Quality standard

To measure quality, a business first needs to decide what acceptable quality looks like. It can then set quality standards and targets against which performance is compared.

Quality control involves checking completed output against quality standards. Trained inspectors may examine every product or a sample at the end of the production process. Output that fails the checks can be kept from customers and repaired or rejected.

Services also have quality standards, even though customers do not necessarily receive a physical object. Passengers may judge a train service by punctuality, while café customers may judge the accuracy of their order, the waiting time and how staff treat them. Customer service, including help after a purchase, can also affect a customer’s judgement of overall quality.