Talked to your customer lately
Spent the past week in Edmonton, Alberta. Not quite Spring there yet but was too busy to notice.
In addition to speaking I was interviewing customers of the client. The client wants me to talk to the managers a bit about the customer experience and I figured I would call a few. I have talked to six so far and I have gotten an ear full. Mostly good, some great and some bad.
From where I sit, “mostly good” isnt good enough. Said differently, they are perceived as average. Nothing special, middle of the road. Not differentiated. You get the idea. The customers did mention some specific areas of improvement and there is work to be done.
What about your customers? When is the last time you asked them, “how are we doing?” Not in the midst of a project but after the dust settles and they have time to look back on things and compare things in perspective. I have done this for clients before and it is amazing what customers will tell you, or a third party, if you ask.
It has me thinking I need to commission someone to call some of my clients and get some feedback. I THINK we are doing a good job but the more feedbak the better.
So, if someone contacts you saying they are doing customer satisfaction research for me, they probably are. Please tell them what you think.
"As a result of the session you delivered to my group, using “No Yelling” as the guide we have experienced an exceptional start to our 2009 construction season. Safety as usual is paramount, and our production rates have exceeded even my high expectations. There has been a positive shift in ownership from all that attended, which leads me to believe we could have the same success if we did the same kind of training with our front line labor force."
Bob Peeke
Construction Manager
Alberta Highway Services Ltd.