Several of our suppliers claim to implement standards, but in reality they implement a subset of those standards, and only under certain circumstances.
To make matters worse, they don’t actually document the places where their implementation diverges from the standard. You get what you expect most of the time, but not quite always. And when you don’t, it can be a problem… a big problem.
What would if other businesses worked that way? Imagine you regularly ordered a taxi to take you to the airport. Imagine that, most time, a taxi turns up, where you want it, when you want it. But just occasionally, instead of a taxi, they send a small, golden-feathered chicken. But they insist you pay for it, even if you miss your flight.
The point of a standard is that it is… standard. So, almost implementing a standard is another way of saying that you don’t implement it. Except that your marketing people won’t be able to sell your product unless you claim to implement it.
</rant>