For many years I have been a very successful businessman. The main product I have delivered in any business is of course: Customer Service.
When I was studying World Class Manufacturing at the University of California in San Diego, I was amazed at how many people do not understand that fact. That is possibly the main reason for businesses not to succeed, not only in America but anywhere in the world.
What is quality? Professor Bill Evans asked. A hundred definitions could be elaborated, but the only one right answer is:
Quality is what the customer says it is.
If we want any business or activity to be really successful, the very critical ingredient is...
customer satisfaction!
We have to make perfectly sure that each and every person in the organization is aware of that vital fact. Each one should do their job having in mind this question: How does this particular operation contribute to customer satisfaction? This is true even in a one person operation, like mine. In this same way, we may be able to find a number of non-value-added activities that do not mean any advantage to the customer. That is, in many cases we are doing something for our product or service that our customer is not willing to pay for. On the other hand, there may be some improvements that we can implement that will add real value (the kind of value the customer is willing to pay for).
When each element in our organization is focused on this purpose, a good number of good ideas come out to improve and make our product or service superior to our competitors'. When we are in charge of a department or internal operation within a company or a greater organization, our focus not necessarily is the final buyer of the finished products. In those cases more likely our customer is the department our service is being delivered to. Such is the case of maintenance or administrative services. We are there to please that immediate customer.
For some 12 years I worked at Ford Motor Co., the concept there was very clear. Each line would "buy" the sub-assemblies or sub-products from some other line or working cell. At that time there still was a Quality Control Inspector who would be the one to "buy" or "not buy" the quality delivered by the "supplier". Today, in a cell environment, the quality is defined by the following person in the process. No one should accept no-quality parts from the previous person.
Today, Quality Control is not a department, it is an assignment of each of us. We are or should be aware that it is our task to put in the process the quality that is expected. It is no gracious to produce quality, it is the only way we are expected to perform.
4 Steps to create a
Better Customer Service:
1.- Identify your Customer
2.- Establish a good communication so you learn what your customer's expectations are about your service or product
3.- Create or modify your product or service according to that information
4.- Make sure everyone in your company or organization is aware and willing to improve the customer service vision and mission
If you would like to get all your employees really involved in this improvement of the customer service, please read...
