“We had received a few letters, and generally they were positive, but they would say:  ‘It’s really too bad you use those foam peanuts.  Have you thought of using something else?’ or ‘I am really going to have to start looking for another source if you guys don’t stop using them.’  People wanted to continue to order products from us, and they liked our service, but they objected to us using the foam peanuts.  I figured if so many people had taken the time to write to us, then there must be many more people thinking along the same lines.  So we stopped using foam and started using a tissue made from 100 percent recycled magazines instead.”

– Patricia Gallup, PC Connection, Inc.

The purpose of sharing this quote regarding customer feedback from a quality company is to ask you the question about your customers:  Are You Listening?

Many times workers in companies and/or agencies who are responsible for collecting customer status or satisfaction information do not give this function the continuous improvement attention it deserves.  Although it is true that customers are not always thoughtful and complete in their responses to quality survey requests, you can never assume you won’t find that “gold nugget” suggestion somewhere…sometime!

This week’s TRIPLE III TIME message:  Are You Listening? is fully intended to force everyone to question themselves about their customer service follow-up process.  Do you do it just because you must…or in search of a good idea?  Do you really pay attention to the responses…or do you just check off who responded and how many?  Or is your customer follow-up process outdated and just an assignment…and thereby self-defeating in its purpose?

Great companies/organizations put stock in getting quality feedback from their customers.  Are you GREAT?