Weight loss (slimming) services & ISO 9001

Promising a miraculous cure for weight-loss has become a fast expanding business in metros. But what is the reality? Sometime back a consumer court imposed a heavy fine on a slimming center for failing to burn the fat of its three customers against its promise of reduction of weight by 10 Kg, 30 Kg and 20 Kg. The result after the course was reduction of weight by four, nine and 10 Kg respectively. The slimming centre was fined by the consumer court for deficient services.

The court also observed that ’’These are such therapies and treatments which can have a devastating effect on the future life of a consumer and therefore have to be provided through professionally skilled and medically qualified persons.... We hold that appellant (slimming centre) guilty of unfair trade practice as they provided certain services which were not up to the satisfaction of complainants.... By way of caution, we hereby give directions to all such providers of service who are in practice to discontinue with the unfair trade practices.’’

Another unsatisfactory development is that many of such slimming centres are claiming that they have been certified as per international quality management system standard, ISO 9001. The certification agencies giving such certificates should also take note of the court’s observations or else they will also be held responsible for any adverse effect on any customer. There are many areas which are not properly managed but certification agencies ignore such lapses and grant certification to gain business. Non-availability of professionally skilled and medically qualified persons and non-validation of processes used for weight reduction are two such important lapses generally ignored by certification agencies.

In one case a slimming centre has been advertising that it is ISO 9001 certified and was giving addresses of about a dozen centers. When I brought it to the notice of the certification agency I was told that they had audited only one centre. But the agency was trying to justify this wrong action by giving silly excuses.

Can we design an effective quality managemnent system for these services?