Customer Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Measurement

[Bill Smith]

Measuring Customer Satisfaction and Dis-Satisfaction

I am looking for some help on how to best show the difference between the measurment of Customer Satisfaction and Dis-satisfaction. We currently track a number of performance measurables that are important to us such as internal and external PPM rates, but we were hit during our audit for only tracking Dis-Satisfaction, We tried to make the connection that if we are meeting our goals and improving our performance we would by default be satisfying the "Customer". And we were shot down.
So any help on how it's being done elsewhere would be very much apprecieated.


Thanks

 

[Marc]

How about the old standards? Address customer Satisfaction through customer surveys and feedback to your sales organization.

 

[Howard Atkins]

Customer surveys are Ok but for a small company to send a questionaire to one of the Big 3 is a problem, even though they should reply this is not guaranteed.
It is possible to say that if they do not reply then they are satisfied.
Personal contact could be the answer , or requalar visits to the customer or telephone calls that are logged. A lot of our customers like me to phone once a month just to ask if every thing is OK.

 

[barb butrym]

communication is the key, whether survey or phone or visit..You need to determine what the customer's needs are besides the obvious "good stuff cheap"..and of course on time....and measure your success accordingly. You cannot determine inside a black box what the answers are.

 

[Christian Lupo]

Those are good measures of customer dissatisfaction, but not good indicators of satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction can be determined through periodic surveys, documented visits to the customer, or customer satisfaction reports. As part of "subcontractor development" QS registered companies will send you customer satidfaction, on time delivery, or PPM reports.

 

[Steven Sulkin]

I would like to understand more about these reports. Are we going to have to do reports to our suppliers or is this just a first tier thing?

We have an online contact report program. Your suggesting that that might work? How would you go about using that data? It seems like it would be heck looking for trends and such?!?

FYI-We are pursuing QS9000 because of the fit with our quality system. Very few of our customers are QS9000 certified. We do get audited regularly though. I guess that would still be more indicative of dissatisfaction.

 

[Bill Smith]

We use a Management review process based of of FORD's Quality Operating System (QOS) requirements. We also survey our customers for their expectations.

 

[Steven Sulkin]

I did not find a description of the Quality Operating System in the Quality System Requirements manual. Can you tell me the essentials?

 

[Marc]

Posted for Dan:

-----snippo-----

Subject: Measuring Customer Satisfaction
Date: Fri, 06 Nov 1998 13:38:55 -0500
From: "Dan Indish" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]

Steven -

Start measuring Customer Satisfaction from the financial end. Check out such metrics as DSO (Days Sales Outstanding - i.e. the typical time to collect from Customers) and Accounts Receivables Numbers. These financials cost the company money and are what management listens to. When managers realize how much money is going down the drain, then they will authorize surveys, and personal phone calls, etc.

We use mail-in surveys, phone calls, management visits and web site complaints also.

Dan Indish

 

[Steven Sulkin]

Customer Satisfaction Measures?

Wanted to see what you guys have come up with to measure Customer Satisfaction.

We currently look at returned goods and customer complaints. Do most of you use surveys or are we pretty much on the mark?