Is Customer Satisfaction Dead?

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A common question that people keep asking is “Has Customer Satisfaction Died?” Personally, I have said the same thing more than once in the last few months. My party and I walked into a restaurant that has a large sign that states “Wait to Be Seated.” So, we wait and small talk for about ten minutes when a server walks by and says, “Sit wherever you want.” That may be the first challenge to the same restaurant as we waited about fifteen minutes for a server (as many walk by). As many of us who travel know, this is not the exception. If you read reviews of hotels, restaurants, and other services there are many incidents.

Technology is blamed for lowering customer satisfaction. The major reason is that mobile phones, portals, text messaging and remote meetings have resulted in less personal interaction. Human nature requires face to face interaction as a key component for happiness. I was just auditing a customer this past week who highlighted that training effectiveness and employee morale has increased significantly with the return of face-to-face training/meetings. I see many created photos comparing dinner in the past when all the family is talking and enjoying a meal together. To the present scenario when everyone is still seated at the table, but a couple are on a mobile phone, another watching TV, while another is on a tablet, etc.

So, what can we do? I know a relative who turns the TV off and collects all electronics until the meal and clean-up is done. I guess that is a path but is there some additional guidance? In fact, there are a series of standards that can assist organizations and professionals who do want to drive customer satisfaction. These standards include:

• ISO 10001 Quality Management – Customer Satisfaction - Guidelines for codes of conduct for organization.
• ISO 10002 Quality Management – Customer Satisfaction – Guideline for complaints handling in organizations.
• ISO 10003 Quality Management – Customer Satisfaction -Guidelines for dispute resolution eternal to organization
• ISO 10004 Quality Management - Customer Satisfaction- Guidelines for monitoring and measuring.
• ISO0008 Quality Management – Customer Satisfaction – Guidelines for business-to-consumer electronic commerce transactions

ISO 10001 is applicable to any type of business or organization. This provides the basics for creating an initiative for achieving customer satisfaction. The other standards reference help with specific aspects of managing customer satisfaction.