"Excellent customer service cannot be achieved by a formula nor by a smiling employee who does not have the ability or the desire to satisfy the customer.  It can only be achieved by a conscious effort on the part of all employees to improve the customers' experience.  We must focus on convenience to our customers and not what is easiest for us to manage."¹

Competing on the basis of product differentiation is becoming increasingly futile.  In today's marketplace, success is determined more by excellent service than by product superiority.

• Do you know what is most important to your customers?  Are you able to provide it?

• Do you know how well you are satisfying your customer? Do you know where you are causing your customer pain?  How do you know?  What kind of a feedback system do you have?

• Do your employees know what satisfies your customers?  How do you know?

• Have you ever lost a customer?  Do you know why?  Have you tried to regain that customer?

• Do you know that your current customers are a key marketing tool for your business?

• Do your employees consider each other as customers?  Do they know that anyone who receives a product or service from someone else is that person's customer?

The Importance of Defect Identification & Elimination to Customer Satisfaction

Are you aware that there is more than one kind of defect?  Any failure to satisfy your customer is a defect.  Any time someone has to do something over again something was defective in that process. Achieving total CUSTOMER SATISFACTION requires measuring your business performance as your customer sees it.

There is a cost associated with defects.  If you catch the defects within your business, there's the cost of the employee time involved in rework and possibly the cost of  wasted product.  If the defect escapes your business and hits your customer, you could have costs associated with the loss of your business' reputation and possibly the loss of your customer.  You also may have warranty costs and rework costs.  Approximately 90% of customers who are dissatisfied with the service or product they receive from your business will not return.  Not only is there the real potential for losing current customers, but a dissatisfied customer will certainly tell others about his/her experience and you could lose potential customers, too.

Evaluating the effectiveness of your processes is critical to defect identification, defect elimination, customer satisfaction, and cost reduction.  It is much more cost effective to do something right the first time.  It's also more cost effective to have processes that are as stream-lined and efficient as possible with defect detection and built in controls.

Eliminating defects not only makes customer sense, it makes good business sense. 

Hughes-Consulting can help you improve your customer satisfaction, regain lost customers, and improve your business processes.  You will see an impact to your bottom line results as you reduce your defects and an increase to your top line results as you satisfy your current customers and gain new ones.

¹Gary Heil & Richard Tate "Legendary Customer Service"