Recalling products to provide good service to customers. Automobile companies, drug manufacturers, and others have frequently attempted to recall and replace defective products before they reached the customers. The best example we have seen of recalling products to provide good service to customers was that of a newspaper publisher in a community in Kansas. Shortly after the papers were delivered to people's homes, they were soaked by a sudden unexpected downpour as they lay on porches, sidewalks, and lawns. So the publisher ordered the entire press run of 100,000 newspapers to be repeated and delivered. Why? He was attempting to provide a high level of service to readers and advertisers.
What are the costs and benefits to the newspaper of making this ‘‘product recall''? Was this an ethical issue?