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Show srrv o? .partznont Ciorials Order DUtah ttU ty of WZARIts r . 24112 City NOV WESTERN AMERICANA --TWr- 1J973 5 ORDER vf VOLUME 17, NUMBER 199 Must Forestall SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH Customer Beefs, I Supreme Court Decisions Firms Warned EAST LANSING, MICH. (ACCN) Today's marketplace demands that corporations do more than simply respond to customer gripes they need to search out complaints and then handle them before they are even 'registered. So say two marketing specialists, William G. Nickels and Noel B. Zabriskie, who said it is time for manufacturers, retailers and other companies to establish offensive strategies for anticipating and satisfying consumer inquiries and Insurance Now Covers Former 'Untouchables NEW YORK of ( ACCN)-Mill- ions Americans are being affected by the rapid changes taking place in the health insurance field. Hiese changes are most evident; reports the Health Insurance Institute, in the liberal approach now being used in many insurance policies. For example, during the past several years, many of these policies have been extended to cover such treatments as: Mental illenss. Alcoholism. Drug addiction. Births out of wedlock Venereal disease. Abortions. Vasectomies. Other significant changes in , insurance health company protection today include: Hie continuation of insurance on disabled dependent children into adulthood, including hte mentally retarded. Coverage for prescribed drugs and for care provided in skilled nursing homes. Policies covering the services of home care programs, vision care, and dental care insurance. According to the Institute, in- surance companies principal providers now of are com- prehensive dental care in the nation. Coverage also is being extended to such things as kidney dialysis and the costs of donors in transplant cases. This new broadened coverage, says the Institute, represents a combination of consumer demand and changes in medical practice. As such, treatment for licensed acupuncture, chiropractic manipulations and naturopathic treatment are also covered by many policies. At the same time it reflects a willingness by insurance companies to accommodate and adjust to changes in social attitudes. Mental illness, alcoholism and drug addiction are increasingly looked upon as bona fide sicknesses rather than moral problems. Persons with these illnesses who are under medical treatment can receive health insurance benefits. I complaints." Those strategies se well-train- (See details page 4) ed public" Nickels and Zabriskie mended that efforts to provide "post-transactio- recom- Control Data n" consumer satisfaction should be given "as much or more emphasis as product design, packaging, pricing and other activities. They said too many firms today are placing the emphasis of their marketing communications on talking to potential customers. Relatively little attention is given to the function of listening to and reacting to customer inquiries and complaints. Nickels and Zabriskie recommended corporations pay more to heed the "marketing correspondence function, and they offer five requirements for its effectiveness. Personnel should be well trained, preferably college graduates with skills in both written and verbal Computer School Accused by FTC - i The (UPI) Federal Trade Commission has accused a major computer training school, operated by Control Data Oorp., of trying to recruit students with inflated claims of the job opportunities they would get. Hie company, headquartered in -"Minneapolis, Md., denied the charges and said it would vigorously contest them. The FTC yesterday made formal a complaint it had originally proposed against the firm in May of 1972. It said negotiations to settle the matter outside of the FTCs full judicial process had failed. communication," and, most The complaint alleged that critically, with "a friendly perData failed to tell Control Too often, sonality." marketing a seen as is prospective students the percorrespondence "clerical or secretarial-typ- e centage of its recent graduates who had obtained jobs in the field for with recruits, having only position which they were trained. It also a high school diploma and minimal said the firm did not tell who was business experience. doing the hiring and what the Responsibilities of marketing were. salaries should be correspondents clearly FTC also alleged the courses The so out handle can their spelled they offered did not prepare graduates normal duties as well as such added for the high level positions the firm tasks as relaying information to claimed. salesmen and others encountering customer complaints. Marketing correspondents should be given "the authority to respond to problems. Too few companies even grant experienced correspondents adequate authority to allow them to give good service. Guidelines should be set up for marketing correspondence, not to minimize the number of complaints, but to record, process and help resolve inquiries and complaints so that steps can be taken ATLANTA (UPI) to reduce the number of future Ray Garrett, and the of Securities chairman Jr., problems. told has Commission, Exchange accountants that they should be prepared to detect fraud and assure accuracy of financial reports of public corporations. "It is far better to meet public responsibilities through forward looking professional leadership than to have responsibilities forced upon the profession through ensaid in WASHINGTON (UPI) Persons forcement actions, Garrett prepared remarks for the annual convicted of political spying during meeting of the American Institute federal election campaigns 'could of Certified Public Accountants. receive sentences of up to 10 years Garrett said the CPA is in a under legislation introduced by unique position to be able to Rep. Don Clausen, discover fraudulent activities Clausens bill would prohibit any before the public is injured. The employe or volunteer working for a SEC chairman also said CPAS candidate to spy on another canshould expand their duties to indidate. It also would prohibit the clude approval of interim financial use of campaign funds to pay for reports of corporations. political espionage. WASHINGTON SEC Chairman Says CPAs Must Detect Frauds - Bill Calls For Penalties On Campaign Spies - if. k No-Fau- lt Proposed For All Enterprises CHARLOTTESVILLE, include "marketing correspondence, a function analaguous to an ombudsmaa Each firm should have personnel in charge of marketing correspondence, they said "These people must be knowledgeable, and generally sympathetic with the needs of the WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1973 VA.-De- spite the harrowing and predictable fact that 20 million Americans are injured by consumer products annually with 110.000 permanently disabled and 30.000 killed victim compensation from product liability insurance is negligible, according to an article in the current Virginia Law Review, published at the University of Virginia School of Law. The victims prospect for securing adequate compensation would be increased and the product manufacturer's financial burden would be decreased under a proposed system called enterprise liability, says University of Illinois law professor Jeffrey O'Connell in his article on "Expanding Beyond Auto Insurance: Some Proposals. Under enterprise liability, any individual or corporation engaged in enterprise would be liable for bodily injury to any human being resulting from the operation of typical risks associated with the activity of the enterprise, regardless of fault, O'Connell says. For example, enterprise liability might be invoked against those who manufacture and sell architectural glass when people are cut by it, or against those who manufacture and sell fireworks when they explode and injure, says OConnell. No-Fau- No-fau- lt enterprise liability lt payout to many more accident victims than under traditional tort liability because the victim would not be required to prove the product defective, but g only to prove that the product caused the accident. Under the current system, in order to impose liability on the manufacturer for injury caused by his product, the victim's attorney must prove that the product is in some way defective, a complex and expensive process, O'Connell says. Rarely can the victim match the resources of the manufacturer who defends his product with a passion and often win OConnell says. Currently, individuals with valid claims often decline to prosecute them in the realization that they are more likely to lose than gain, he says. ' Incentives for the adoption of enterprise liability also exist for the product manufacturer, he says. Although the manufacturer might have to pay more people for injury, he would pay less on an overall basis, O'Connell maintains. The manufacturer would be spared the expense of defending his product from charges of being defective, he says. Furthermore, the manufacturer would only be required to pay the victim's losses, not for so called pain and suffering. would promise risk-creatin- out-of-poc- Veither must he duplicate payments already made by other sources such as the iqjureds health insurance, OConnell writes. Since enterprise liability would cover losses not otherwise compensated, two tragedies of present tort liability would be eliminated: calamitous losses which often go i uncompensated and precious dollars distributed to victims which duplicate payment already made by other sources, he contimues. Of great importance to the manufacturer, the stigma would of be liability substantially removed since the enterprise would be paying not because its product was defective, but rather on the morally neutral ground that the injury was an accident, an event actuarially inevitable in the course of the activity in question, explains OConnell. From an economic standpoint enterprise liability can be justified, for if the business is forced to bear all accident costs resulting from typical risks associated with his product, and not just those caused by a defective product, he has an increased financial incentive to search for safer product alternatives, says O'Connell. Furthermore, the number of persons bearing the financial loss will be maximized in order to minimize Ha impact on the in- dividual, says OConnell. If the manufacturer is held liable for a particular loss, that loss can be spread among buyers, factors, and entrepreneurs, says O'Connell. To institute enterprise liability, O'Connell recommends that a law be passed which allows those desiring to be covered by liability for all or selected risks and injuries to make that election, thereby eliminating traditional tort litigation. , no-fau- lt AmManagement Topic Office Worker Costs - NEW YORK (ACCN) While 80 to 84 percent of production workers are subject to work measurement standards, only 5 percent of office workers are. The result? While labor costs in factory operations rose only 9 percent in the past 10 years office labor costs have skyrocketed 42 percent. Collar "Improving White Productivity Through Work Measurement" will be the thrust of a week long meeting, sponsored by American Management Associations, November AMA 12-1- 6, 1973, headquarters, New York. Designed for executives who want the skills to start productivity improvement programs, this special meeting will allow registrants working in small to zero in on practical, groups tested methods of clerical work measurement presented by expeople with solid, hands-o- n perience. Robert H. Sebald, Hampton Industries, Inc. (North Carolina), and N. Eugene Kujawa, Xerox, University Microfilms (Michigan), will the meeting. Information may be had from the co-cha- ir American Management Association, 135 West 50th St., New ' York, N.Y. 10020. |