[BULK] - Re: [TowerTalk] Amidon customer satisfaction

[Steve Katz]

You know, it is easy to gain that perspective...however I don't agree.  The
current ISO standard 9000:2001 actually does require data collection for
customer satisfaction, it's part of the new standard, and part of what a
company gets audited on.  However, great customer satisfaction doesn't imply
a successful business, at all.  Nor does so-so satisfaction imply an
unsuccessful one.  

Dell Electronics, as one example, makes the "buying" process slick as oil
and very easy.  However, the fulfillment experience isn't nearly as good as
the buying experience for most customers.  I, for one, have been nothing but
completely disappointed with the experience of receiving their goods and
trying to make them work first time out of the box.  Yet, they are highly
successful, profitable, and growing.

I think customer satisfaction audits are one of many steps to help guide a
company along its path to growth and success, but routine training of
employes and adjusting processes to keep up with relevant trends are
probably far more important.  ISO does help guide companies through these by
simply suggesting the steps and flowchart to follow.  The processes are up
to the registrant, but if the processes are obviously poor or not working,
the ISO audit helps reveal what should be obvious to managers and business
owners but isn't always.

We consider ourselves to be reasonably intelligent people with solid
business backgrounds, but we learn from every audit.  Maybe we just have a
very good auditor!

-WB2WIK/6





My previous employer went through ISO900x certification and I can verify
Bill is right on.

IMO, a much better process would be to conduct scientific audits of
customer satisfaction, but then all the ISO people would be out of a
(lucrative) job.  The whole thing is a sham.

--
Bill, W6WRT
QSLs via LoTW