Wednesday, September 8, 2010

September Q&E Kaizen - 9/8/2010 - social proofing personal checks

Quick and Easy Kaizens - ideas to reduce waste, save money, eliminate problems, and improve quality of life in small ways.

Before:  I would write a personal check to someone for payment and they would sometimes hold on to it for weeks or months before cashing it.   Even writing "please cash immediately" would not compel folks to quickly cash it.  It seemed that folks would cash checks at inopportune times bringing the balance of our checking account precariously low.

After: In the memo section of the check, I write,"95% of our checks are cashed in 7 days".  This message has a social proof that all but 5% of people cash our check in a week so the bearer of the check feels the pressure to conform to the group.  One of my most frequent "check holders" that I have to pay for my son's lessons cashed my check withing 6 days after using this new message.  Try it out!

Benefits:
  • Better cash management in checking account
  • Reduced check float time
What have you improved today?

Dan Lafever, Kaizeneer

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