Tag Archives: customer service

Learning from Customers

Posted on March 2, 2021 by John Hunter

Don’t make it hard for customers to be heard. Provide training and tools to employees to document customers voices. Train employees to learn as much as possible from customers. Value the time employees spend listening to customers and learning from them. Most customers won’t speak up, those that do speak up provide valuable insight. Don’t waste what they offer. Create a management system focused on continual improvement that is engaged in seeking out customer feedback and continually improving the value … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Management | Tagged critical thinking, culture, Customer focus, customer service, Data, feedback, learning | 1 Comment

Looking in the Mirror at Customer Focus

Posted on September 5, 2017 by John Hunter

Most organizations say they are focused on meeting and exceeding customer needs. But, as a customer, this often isn’t what I experience. Delighting customers is critical to long term business success. Satisfied customers will remain your customers until they see the opportunity for something that might be better or is cheaper. Delighted customers are loyal and much more likely to remain customers. Delighting customers is often about paying attention to the small details. Paying close attention to customer’s jobs to … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Innovation, Management, Systems thinking | Tagged culture, Customer focus, customer service, Innovation, Japan, management, strategy | 1 Comment

Cater to Customers Desires to Achieve Customer Delight

Posted on January 10, 2017 by John Hunter

Customer delight requires understanding your customers needs and desires. Often even your customers don’t understand these well. Businesses that have a deep appreciation for what their customers, and potential customers, desire and that create systems to deliver solutions that delight those customers benefit greatly from that effort. To build a sustainable enterprise you must provide value customers will appreciate. Your customers do not have one unified set of desires. Some customers may want as good an experience as is possible … Continue reading →

Posted in Competition, Customer focus, Management, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged Customer focus, customer service, management system, organization as a system, Psychology, Systems thinking | 3 Comments

Add Constraints to Processes Carefully

Posted on November 23, 2016 by John Hunter

Take great care in adding constraints to processes to avoid doing so needlessly. Online you will frequently find forms that have required fields that needn’t be. Certainly if you were designing with focus on what is best for customers those requirements rarely make sense. Occasionally a required field is a sensible constraint on an online form but so often they add unnecessary constraints. I frequently find those forms even requiring a false answer since a response is required and none … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, IT, Software Development | Tagged bad customer service, Customer focus, customer service, IT, mistake-proofing, process thinking, tips, usability

Support Theatre

Posted on June 21, 2016 by John Hunter

Support theatre provides the appearance of supporting customers when in fact it is just treating customers poorly based on a management system that disrespects customers. It is a similar idea to security theatre that has become so popular for government in the USA for the last 10 years. Dilbert does a good job of illustrating “support theatre” in this webcast: I have had the exact experience Dilbert does of tech support refusing to think about the actual symptoms of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Fun, Management | Tagged bad customer service, commentary, customer service | 2 Comments

Good Startup Ideas from Startup Weekend JB (Malaysia)

Posted on November 27, 2014 by John Hunter

I like all these startup ideas from Startup Weekend JB (Malaysia). I can’t figure out how to comment on their blog (I am guessing Tumbler just eliminates commenting?), so I started this post – and ended up adding much more than I planned on putting in a comment. All of these ideas are not very technically challenging and pretty much versions of these businesses are already successful around the globe. But creating great user experiences (in apps or on web … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Innovation, IT | Tagged Asia, business, Customer focus, customer service, Innovation, IT, management, Software Development, startup | 1 Comment

Don’t Ignore Customer Complaints

Posted on November 20, 2014 by John Hunter

I find Paul Graham’s ideas very useful. I disagree with his recent tweet though. Update: See note at bottom of the post – Paul tweeted that his original tweet was wrong. Base your assessment of the merit of an idea on the actual merit of the idea, not the category you place the person in that is expressing the idea. His reply tweet addresses the problem with the first one in a very specific case. But you have “bugs” that … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus | Tagged continual improvement, Customer focus, customer service, evidence based management, feedback, gemba, organization as a system, Paul Graham | 2 Comments

Out of Touch Executives Damage Companies: Go to the Gemba

Posted on August 20, 2014 by John Hunter

When your customer service organization is universally recognized as horrible adding sales requirements to customer service representatives jobs is a really bad practice. Sadly it isn’t at all surprising to learn of management doing just that at our largest companies. Within a system where cash and corruption buys freedom from market forces (see below for more details) such practices can continue. Such customer hostile practices shouldn’t continue. They shouldn’t be allowed to continue. And even though the company’s cash has … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Data, Management, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged bad management, business, commentary, curiouscat, Customer focus, customer service, Economics, executives, gemba, Google, government, internet, leadership, management, Psychology, regulation, respect for people, sales, targets

Quality Processes in Unexpected Places

Posted on March 25, 2013 by John Hunter

This month Paul Borawski asked ASQ’s Influential Voices to explore the use of quality tools in unexpected places. The most surprising example of this practice that I recall is the Madison, Wisconsin police department surveying those they arrested to get customer feedback. It is obvious that such “customers” are going to be biased. Still the police department was able to get actionable information by seeking the voice of the customer. Certain of the police department’s aims are not going to … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Customer focus, Data, Innovation, Management, Process improvement, Public Sector, Respect | Tagged ASQ Influential Voices, Creativity, Customer focus, customer service, leadership, Lean thinking, Madison, Process improvement, Public Sector, respect for people, Systems thinking | 5 Comments

Customers

Posted on December 12, 2012 by John Hunter

Customer focus is critical to succeed with management improvement efforts. Few argue with that point, though my experience as a customer provides plenty of examples of poor systems performance on providing customer value (usability, managing the value stream well, etc.). At times people get into discussion about what counts as a customer. Are customers only those who pay you money for a product or service? What about internal customers? What about users that don’t pay you, but use your product … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Deming, Management | Tagged curiouscat, Customer focus, customer service, Deming, gemba, Innovation, management, quote, Systems thinking, value stream | 11 Comments

Customer Focus by Everyone

Posted on August 7, 2012 by John Hunter

There are many critical elements to a management system. One that is fundamental, yet still poorly executed far too often, is creating a system where all staff can focus on enhancing value to the customer every day. If your enterprise does not focus on this, it should. If you think your enterprise does, my first, second and third suggestions are to think more critically about whether it really does. If the answer is yes, then you are lucky to work … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Deming, Management, Systems thinking | Tagged build capacity, Customer focus, customer service, Deming, management, Systems thinking | 6 Comments

Simple Customer Care: Communicate

Posted on July 17, 2012 by John Hunter

Some management issues are hard. You are often balancing priorities. Sometimes though it is extremely simple: either you have concern for customers and take actions to back that up or you have some concern but don’t do anything about it. Here are some examples that show you really just don’t care. If you have invested millions in setting up computer systems to authorize, and reject, payments for say a credit card and you fail to notify customers when you reject … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, IT, Management | Tagged bad customer service, bank, Customer focus, customer service | 2 Comments

The Customer is the Purpose of Our Work

Posted on April 9, 2012 by John Hunter

A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so. Mahatma Gandhi [his authorship of the quote is … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Management, Psychology, quote, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged aim, Customer focus, customer service, food, Psychology, purpose, quote, respect for people | 6 Comments

Be Thankful for Customer That Are Complaining, They Haven’t Given Up All Hope

Posted on December 13, 2011 by John Hunter

I ran across this message and liked it (by wuqi256): My time spent in a fast food chain (factory worker on weekends and security guard at night, yes really thanks to them, i have great jobs like that) when i was young trying to feed the family and study at the same time was quite useful. They taught me that “Customers who complain are the best customers, it shows that they have still residual faith and goodwill in the organisation … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus | Tagged Creativity, Customer focus, customer service, Process improvement, Psychology | 1 Comment

The Impact of Leadership on Business Outcomes

Posted on October 18, 2011 by John Hunter

Guest post by Joe Folkman Have you ever been part of an organization where things were proceeding smoothly, where goals were achieved, people were busy and the organization was doing well? Then, a new leader came and everything suddenly changed for the better. The energy level of employees went up substantially, pride in the organization increased, the effort and dedication of individuals jumped, bold objectives were enthusiastically accepted and even greater results were achieved. The differences were not only measurable … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Psychology | Tagged customer service, guest post, leadership, Psychology | 6 Comments

Rude Behavior Costs Companies

Posted on September 26, 2011 by John Hunter

Approximately one-third of consumers surveyed reported they’re treated rudely by an employee on an average of once a month and that these and other episodes of uncivil worker behavior make them less likely to patronize those businesses. Customers rarely report such behavior to employee supervisors, and management systems are so poor they don’t deal with this problem (good systems will – Trader Joe’s or Crutchfield, for example) ensuring a relentless cycle of poor employee behavior that leaves consumers angry and … Continue reading →

Posted in Competition, Customer focus, Psychology, Respect | Tagged bad service, Customer focus, customer service, management research, Psychology, respect for people | 6 Comments