6 replies to this topic

[carine]

Hi, 

 

can we stop customer come to  audit us , this is   to prevent potential exposure  to  covid-19 ? What are the reason u guys normally given to customer in this situation? 

[TimG]

Do you have a contract with this customer detailing audit requirements?

[Ryan M.]

We haven't encountered this because all our customers are retail direct.  However, from my communication with colleagues who are in this situation the customers are naturally staying away from audits unless they see it as high risk or there is a new product rollout they have to observe and provide input.

 

You can't tell your customer to stay away due to COVID-19, but you can tell them there are risks, and you want to minimize the risks as much as possible for your staff's safety.  Have a frank and honest discussion with the higher ups at your company and see what they think.  It will be a case by case situation with each customer, but at least have something from the upper management as a guidance.  Determine risk and what you do to mitigate the risk.  Then, see what a discussion with the customer will yield.  It may be that they want specific information which you can provide without them visiting.

 

 

Hi, 

 

can we stop customer come to  audit us , this is   to prevent potential exposure  to  covid-19 ? What are the reason u guys normally given to customer in this situation? 

[TimG]

 

 

You can't tell your customer to stay away due to COVID-19,

I would respectfully disagree with this. While there are many factors that could discourage you from doing so, if you are in the USA and there are no contracts obligating you, you can indeed tell a customer you are not allowing 'in facility' audits.

Things to consider:

• Contract requirements
• Volume purchased by customer (some quality people would say this doesn't factor in, but this is what pays their salary)
• Authority to refuse (don't get fired because you refused a customer audit cause some guy on the internet told you it was ok)
• Market stance (has your competition streamlined a COVID friendly in facility audit process?)
• Are you open to other options to meet your customers' audit expectations and have you discussed these with your customer?

I have refused customer audits in the past for different reasons. Typically, it was based on their audit requirement vs volume purchased. I have also always communicated this to the management team prior to the official refusal, in case there was an angle I wasn't aware of.

[carine]

Do you have a contract with this customer detailing audit requirements?

no

[Ryan M.]

Well you can always say "NO", but then have to deal with the ramifications which could include pulling their business.  So, again, it is best to discuss with upper management the strategies you want to choose with this topic and then each individual customer directly.

 

You shouldn't be adversarial or demanding with your customer.  Remember, it is a two-way street between the supplier and the customer.

 

I would respectfully disagree with this. While there are many factors that could discourage you from doing so, if you are in the USA and there are no contracts obligating you, you can indeed tell a customer you are not allowing 'in facility' audits.

Things to consider:

• Contract requirements
• Volume purchased by customer (some quality people would say this doesn't factor in, but this is what pays their salary)
• Authority to refuse (don't get fired because you refused a customer audit cause some guy on the internet told you it was ok)
• Market stance (has your competition streamlined a COVID friendly in facility audit process?)
• Are you open to other options to meet your customers' audit expectations and have you discussed these with your customer?

I have refused customer audits in the past for different reasons. Typically, it was based on their audit requirement vs volume purchased. I have also always communicated this to the management team prior to the official refusal, in case there was an angle I wasn't aware of.

[Lisa Nicely]

Have you considered offering them a remote audit via Zoom or other online meeting tool?