From the Kingdom of Uantir emerges a new company that’s set to revolutionize the market. Stores throughout Uantir are already asking their clerks and their store managers “Do you carry the CAP?”
The Consumer Advocacy Partnership”Check the CAP!”The Consumer Advocacy Partnership (CAP) is an independent market driven organization that provides unbiased inspection of products and services for the consumer’s benefit. Its mission is to investigate and evaluate a business’s honesty in advertising and adherence to quality product for the average shopper who does not have the time or capacity to do so on their own. Any product displaying the CAP Seal of Approval can be trusted to adhere to the CAP’s expectation of honesty and dependability. These companies have proven that they do business with honor and integrity. Earning the CAP Seal of Approval is not easy. It is an achievement made by leaders in their industry that can be counted and relied upon
The CAP is: -Independent and unbiased.
-A review and evaluation corporation with no regulatory or approval powers.
-Completely voluntary.
-Completely transparent with its accounting, studies, and evaluations to prevent corruption.
-The preferred method for assuring quality and dependability!
The CAP is not:-A government body akin to the FDA.
-An enforcer of regulations (though all CAP inspectors are mandated reporters of regulation and law violations.)
-A company that sells products.
-A union, act as a union or endorse or promote unions.
FAQs“What stops an individual inspector from taking bribes / giving preferential treatment to a company they are vested in?”
While corruption is a problem in any oversight industry the CAP has taken a number of measures to safeguard against that unfortunate reality through a number of internal checks and balances as well as complete transparency.
-All studies, tests, and inspections are ‘open book’ and available to the public.
-No employee is allowed to evaluate a company they have worked for in the past, have stock in, or are otherwise vested in.
-Inspection and evaluation is never done by just one inspector but by two. Research analysis and laboratory testing is rarely performed by the actual inspector. Supervisors break ties.
-Inspectors do not conduct their duties in conjunction with each other but separately to reduce corroboration.
-Any investigator suspected of corruption is re-assigned. Any investigator proven guilty of corruption’s employment is terminated immediately.
“Who pays for all this?”
The company wishing to “show the CAP” pays for the inspection and research. Cost is based off of size of the company and complexity of the evaluation. The initial inspection is the longest and most expensive. The yearly maintenance costs, which includes annual announced and unannounced inspections generally move more quickly and cost significantly less.
“Won’t companies just pass that cost on to the consumer?”
Most likely. The key issue is choice, both on the distributor and consumer end. The consumer can choose which product, inspected or not, they wish to buy. Likewise the producer has to choose to be inspected and many companies will likely consider it more profitable not to. There will always be a market for high and low quality goods - those who want to pay more for the assurance of quality and those who are willing to take the gamble for lower prices. It is how designer clothing boutiques and discount thrift stores manage to exist alongside each other in the same economy.
“What does “Fair and Honest Business Practices” really mean? What kind of standard can the consumer expect?”
The crux of the inspection is truth in advertising and whether or not the corporation practices business with honor and integrity.
-Does the company actually sell what they say they do, or does their packaging need a dozen asterisks and a mountain of fine print at the bottom of the box?
-Does the company treat its employees fairly especially in regards to employee safety and health while on the job?
-If the product is a consumable are the facilities clean and adequate measures taken to maintain the health and safety of the consumer consuming the product?
-Are products well monitored and inspected for quality and durability? Does the company reject the modern concept of ‘planned obsolescence?’
-Are measures taken to reduce defective products and when that happens are recalls and replacements done in a timely and respectful manner?
Though this list is by no means comprehensive as every industry is unique, it gives a general idea of what the CAP expects from companies it approves.