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{{a|plainenglish|}}Few can dress up a nonsense in finery like we [[Legal eagle|goshawks of the law]]: to “[[endeavour]]” is to embark with laudable commitment on an action worthy of a memorialisation by [[covenant]]; to “try”, not so much. And a merchant who agrees to be held accountable | {{a|plainenglish|}}Few can dress up a nonsense in finery like we [[Legal eagle|goshawks of the law]]: to “[[endeavour]]” is to embark with laudable commitment on an action worthy of a memorialisation by [[covenant]]; to “try”, not so much. And a merchant who agrees to be held accountable only should she note be [[gross negligence|grossly negligent]] promises little more than refraining from outright [[recklessness]] in the performance of her bond. | ||
In the same vein: if we can commit to our [[best reasonable efforts]] — why not something ''less'' than that? How about our ''worst'' [[Reasonable|reasonable efforts]]? A sort of [[cheapest-to-deliver]]; a high-jump clearance that leaves the bar a-wobble, but not quite on the crash mat; a leave outside off that brushes the stump but does not dislodge the bail. | |||
It sounds like a satire; a gentle perversion of the basic premise of good faith commerce — all right, it ''is'' one of those — but still, it is the operating theory behind [[outsourcing]]. It is this precise villainy that the [[service level agreement]] addresses: the tacit knowledge that any | It sounds like a satire; a gentle perversion of the basic premise of good faith commerce — all right, it ''is'' one of those — but still, it is the operating theory behind [[outsourcing]]. It is this precise villainy that the [[service level agreement]] addresses: the tacit knowledge that any organisation which sub-contracts services at scale measures its internal return by how close to the naked minimum requirements of its contract it can swoop without regularly shipping complaint. The [[SLA]] recognises a service provider’s economic imperative to satisfy the literal, formal criteria of a contract and not a whisker more, and so sets out what these are, with deadlines, quantities and auditable standards, in grisly detail. | ||
This is how for-profit [[insurance|insurers]] work, too, come to think of it: yes, true, we have a [[Uberrimae fidei|fiduciary obligation]] and we will, if we really must, honour it — but not with any enthusiasm: we will do nothing in our power that we don’t absolutely have to, to discharge it: we will delay, ignore and quibble: we will lose your correspondence, misdirect our responses and at every turn raise spurious objections in the hope of so sapping your will to carry on that you won’t. | This is how for-profit [[insurance|insurers]] work, too, come to think of it: yes, true, we have a [[Uberrimae fidei|fiduciary obligation]] and we will, if we really must, honour it — but not with any enthusiasm: we will do nothing in our power that we don’t absolutely have to, to discharge it: we will delay, ignore and quibble: we will lose your correspondence, misdirect our responses and at every turn raise spurious objections in the hope of so sapping your will to carry on that you won’t.<ref>Why, by the way, aren’t mutual insurance companies, owned and run for the benefit of the insured, more of a thing? I have never understood this.</ref> | ||
We also see worst reasonable efforts from organisations who know their | We also see worst reasonable efforts from organisations who know their captive customers have little realistic choice — banks, governments, insurers — and those who suppose they’ll not see the same customer again anyway, at least until the exasperation has leeched away — mechanics — and especially, those which are a bit of both, kind low-cost airlines, car rental companies and ticket booking agencies. | ||
So we can giggle, but for much of our rubbish modern lives, ''worst'' reasonable efforts are what we can expect from our rubbish modern overlords whose whole model — the presentation of [[Premium mediocre|the mediocre as premium]] — purport to deliver have sacrificed quality, bound and gagged, at the satanic altar of [[scale]]. It is they that will send brusque emails from unmonitored accounts; they whose pre-recorded messages assures you your call is important and will be answered within the hour; they who ask you how likely you are to recommend your HR department to your friends and family; they who add booking fees for a performances booked online; they who explain your disc brakes were worn, again, and needed replacing when you took the car in to get the wipers fixed. | |||
{{sa}} | {{sa}} | ||
*[[Work-to-rule]] | *[[Work-to-rule]] | ||
*[[Premium mediocre]] | |||
*[[service level agreement]] | *[[service level agreement]] | ||
*[[Gross negligence]] | *[[Gross negligence]] | ||
*[[Best reasonable efforts]] | *[[Best reasonable efforts]] | ||
*[[Endeavour]] | *[[Endeavour]] | ||
{{ref}} |