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MODULE I |
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1. Basis of market success - customer satisfaction
In order to reach the goal of customer satisfaction a development process
must be started in the enterprise which has to involve the entire staff. This
can not be achieved by giving orders and instructions but presupposes a suitable
work atmosphere. A positive work environment conveys the readiness to deal
friendly and openly with the customer.
It is certainly not sufficient to tell the service technicians or employees
that from today on they should please treat the customers a little bit more
politely and friendly. Equipped with such an "instruction or training", one
will hardly be able to achieve the goal of acquiring new customers for the
enterprise.
In the first place, a positive basic attitude in the whole company must be
realised. This process must start at the top, in the management positions
before it can reach the employees and co-workers at the basis of the enterprise.
Unfortunately, in most companies these considerations take only place when
an increasing competition already compellingly requires it and the pressure
becomes so strong that a change has to realised in any case.
Many scientific investigations and surveys demand a change in the relationship
between craftsmen, salesmen or service technicians on the one side and the
customer on the other side. In a service economy each human being also makes
experiences as a customer, e.g. in handling craftsmen, while shopping, in
the car repair shop or in the restaurant. What does the customer think if
impolite salesmen or grumpy service technicians reply to his requests in the
following way: "This is not possible...", "this is much too costly...", "what
do you still want to do with this...", "how do you possibly wish to buy anything
like this..." ? Unfortunately, one also often hears such answers in the sanitary,
heating, air-conditioning and solar energy service business.
Quite frequently not only lacking politeness can be observed but also missing
advisory competence, especially in regard to the very promising new market
of regenerative energy technology. Each year the companies in the sector are
losing millions in profits through deterring and unprofessional customer advisory
and counselling. The big discrepancy between the in theory often demanded
"customer proximity" on the one hand and the reality on the other hand becomes
clearly visible here.
A further proof that something has to be done in order to first achieve and
then to preserve "customer proximity" shows a study about this topic conducted
by the EMNID Institute on behalf of the German SPIEGEL magazine (source: SPIEGEL
26/94):
What does consumers in Germany disturb ? Did you already once leave a shop
from annoyance over bad service without buying anything ?
60 Yes
39 No
1 None