Quality Begins at the Point of Contact

Posted by on Dec 29, 2010 in Customer Satisfaction | 0 comments

A customer survey conducted over 20 years ago, but still true today, uncovered some amazing facts.  Almost 70% of the identifiable reasons why customers left typical companies had nothing to do with the product.
Only 15% of the customers switched their business to a competitor because they found a better product, and only 15% switched because they found a cheaper product.
The overall reason customers switched was due to poor quality of service.  Twenty percent switched because they had experienced too little contact and individual attention.  And the largest number – 45% -said they switched because the attention they did receive was poor in quality.
Creating service quality starts by hiring externally focuses people at the point of contact, i.e., people who genuinely like other people.  As company owners and managers you must give them a vision of service, a knowledge of what the customer needs, and support that lets them do their job.
To be successful, you must consistently provide both product and service quality with every customer you deal with.  During the past few days, service quality by some of the major airports and airlines has really suffered and customers have had to fend for themselves due to the major snow storm on the east coast.  The customs department, at one airport, was closed forcing passengers to be stranded on a tarmac for over twelve hours.  Don’t these companys and agencies have contingency plans?  Some airlines weren’t even answering phone calls due to the high volume, leaving passengers stranded and frustrated.
Haven’t we learned anything in the past 20 years!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.