Looking for a little help from my friends.


Customer Satisfaction


The issue:

8.4 (a) states that we shall collect and analyse data relating to customer satisfaction.

The current method:

Weekly face-to-face meeting with customer representatives. We have 3 outside Sales Engineerings and that is 85 percent of what they do. We want to know weekly how we are doing, any "potential problems", any new products in the pipe, etc. Personal service!

The dilemma

We don't want to bog down our customers with satisfaction surveys. We will not make calls to our customer to survey their satisfaction. How do we comply with this issue? How else can this be done? How have others done it?


:frust: :frust: :frust:

Thanks All!
CarolX :confused:

CarolX
I assume this face-to-face meetings discuss, among other things, the customer’s “perceptions” of your organization’s quality performance.

8.2.1 states “The methods for obtaining and using this information shall be determined”.
Face-to-face meetings are probably the best method for this. It sounds like you have determined the methods for obtaining information if the methods of using the information have been determined (and the inclusion in management review), I think you have the requirements covered.
Russ

I Agree with Russ. Looks like you have it covered.

As long as you document the meetings in some way, I can't see there being a problem.

James

A few weeks ago my wife had surgery and was in the hospital for 4 days. I stayed with her during this time (24 hours a day) and just observed how the nurses and support folks did their jobs.

When it came for her to checkout they handed her a card and said, "We want you to call the head nurse only if our service and your total stay was not excellent".

I had to laugh at this as this hospital has signs all over saying how they were awarded all these customer service things and how great they were.

Since most people are not going to call a nurse to complain in the first place and then to decipher "excellent" when you are not feeling well I could see how their service could be rated excellent.

It did not prove anything to me but goes to show where there is a will there is a way to make ducks look like geese every time.

No help here on you dilema but wanted to share this.

Thanks for the responses.

Yeah, I think I am ok with 8.2.1, but the problem I have is with 8.4 (a), Anaysis of Data, customer satisfaction. The standard states we "shall determine, collect and analyse appropriate data....".
We do not collect any data. The Sales Engineers don't even do trip reports. We really found those to be a waste of time.

A little background might help...

We are a sheet metal fabricator, working in a "Just-in-Time" enviroment, with less than 50 people total. Because of our size, the right hand usually knows what the left hand is doing.

:frust: :frust: :frust:

I am really begining to dislike 9K2K.


Scott,

Thanks for sharing that. It probably sums up WHY we won't do customer surveys.


:bonk:

CarolX

Carol,

Sounds like you are doing a good job getting input from the customers, but the "collect and analyze" part is a hiccup. How about making a simple form for "collection" -- electronic or paper -- for the sales guys to complete after each meeting. A very simple checklist or scorecard might do it -- fast and easy. Maybe room to add comments if anything unusual needs addressed. Kind of a "lean" trip report.

Then someone (you?) analyzes these and determines what, if any, action to take.

Just one of many ways to do it.

Mike S.

Carol,

Do your people fill out some sort of call report to send back in to cover the customers they have seen and information they have collected during the week? If so, you can use those call reports to analyze, measure, monitor and set up improvement objectives.

That is how I've covered those requirements in the past (QS) so I am assuming that it will fly for the 2000 std.

This is what I have provided for our Marketing Department. I have yet to hear anything back from them, but thats a story for another time.

Hi Carol,

Yep - like Steel mentioned. How about a contact report? From this information a database can be created & maintained and reported out during Management Review (or sooner if you like). Bingo - you're covered... :smokin:

I'm attaching a copy of our contact report that the sales guys fill out when they visit a customer. This captures a variety of data and can be sent via e-mail as an attachment or printed out and handed into the Marketing Dept. Ultimately, they end up in my lap for entering into the database, from which I generate my reports.

Being in a similar position, I definitely know where your coming from. We do Job job work, on short lead times, and try to remain lean and flexible. We are currently in the process of registering (QS).

You may already have some good info for analysis. For instance, business level by customer can give indication of customer satisfaction (measured against the economy as a whole of course). If business is increasing, that is a good thing, they must be satisfied.
Customer complaint form is also a quick way to gain insite.

Maybe give you Reps a quick checklist to be filled out during their Face to Face meetings. Keep it short and sweet. Maybe 6-10 items. Give them an idea of what you want and let them design it. That way they can use it to guide the conversation and get the best input. Put this info in a database and report the results.

Hope this sounds ok (early on a Sarurday)

James

Thanks everyone for your input. This item is now a little clearer to me. Thanks for the form ideas.

You people are the BEST!!!!

CarolX

I have to agree with most everyone. I've suggested the "Call Report" to my company as a means of covering this "Customer perception", however, they still keep pushing the Customer Surveys (which they want me to be responsible for).

I'm still trying to convince them not to do the survey idea. Meantime trying to come up with something that will work for us all.

My humble opinion.....Customer Surveys are going to be a waste of time and money.

Jamie

Jamie,

Does your management realize that they will be lucky to get back 10% of the surveys you send out, and that of those roughly 80% will be from customers that have recently perceived (real or not) a problem with your company?

I have done surveys, it is kind of disappointing. You must be prepared to do a lot of analysis and be able to defend your positions, i.e. customers always think the price is too high, even if you are the cheapest game in town. Or that group of customers that always call at the last minute, and even though you both agree on a delivery date, they still are unhappy with your lead times. :rolleyes:

Good luck to you, Maybe you can compromise, do a baseline survey and call reports for continuing surveillance of the satisfaction?

Do not limit yourself, data from customer dissatisifaction can come from various sources including: Surveys, Returns, Supplier CARs, Logs kept by customer service/sales when customers call in with problems. Data comes whither you you want it,need it or use it: all you have to do is find it. :)

Jamie,

Also beware what type of expectations you are setting up in your customers' minds by conducting a survey. I have found that the survey instrument can convey the implication (real or not) that the survey will lead to some kind of change. If no change is forthcoming, the customer may perceive that his/her opinions don't matter to your company.

As gpainter indicated, there is a wealth of information available. Use it first, before you undertake a survey. I think you will be surprised how much information you can get without overt solicitation.

Good luck!!!

Does your management realize that they will be lucky to get back 10% of the surveys you send out, and that of those roughly 80% will be from customers that have recently perceived (real or not) a problem with your company?

This was the easy way out for them. This isn't our only means of the Customer's Perception. As gpainter stated, there is also, Customer Returns, Customer Evaluations, the general daily conversations with the Customer's, Customer Complaints, etc. etc. There is plenty of data there. We have just got to gather and analyize it. Which is something we really haven't been doing in the past.

Jamie

Jamie,


SteelMaiden said:


Does your management realize that they will be lucky to get back 10% of the surveys you send out, and that of those roughly 80% will be from customers that have recently perceived (real or not) a problem with your company?



Just ask you management how many times they have tossed a survey in the garbage. I don't like them and I want to avoid doing them myself!

Regards,
CarolX