Lecture me not, says DR Mike

Roger Heavens’s reply (‘Letters’, CM, March) to my article on housebuilders in February’s issue missed the point. He seems to consider that the three Mori customer satisfaction polls (2000, 2001, 2003) conducted among a sample of owners of new built homes are representative of a measure of industry efficiency. Yes, they are broadly positive about housebuilders, but the 2003 survey found that experience of defects and/or snags in the home has increased (90% compared with 84% in 2001 and 81% in 2000). The surveys also ask homeowners how satisfied they are with the response to repairing these defects. The response? A 50% satisfaction level.

The poll is not structured to determine the efficiency of the building process in the housebuilding sector, but simply measures the layman’s perspective (the purchaser) of the finished product. I repeat my original message: too many housebuilders are unable to measure the wastage in their on-site supply chains.