Comments

so true...in all things commerce. The customer doesnt care about operational excellence, balanced scorecards, etc...just give me a reason to come back

Posted by Mike at December 8, 2005 8:04 PM

Amen!

Posted by Gabriel Salcido at December 8, 2005 11:12 PM

One question.

Why is it a novelty when this sort of sign is discovered? We all know it is right.

Maybe managers should spend less time writing complex reports - full of bullshit language - that no one reads anyway and just simply get out of the office and talk to customers and front line staff. ROCKET SCIENCE (NOT!)

Phew ... I feel so much better now :-)

Posted by Trevor Gay at December 9, 2005 3:57 AM

Hi All,

A few of my favorite quotes on customers...

a) If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful. - Jeff Bezos.

b) I never get the accountants in before I start up a business. It's done on gut feeling, especially if I can see that they are taking the mickey out of the consumer. - Richard Branson

c) Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. - Bill Gates

d) In our way of working, we attach a great deal of importance to humility and honesty; With respect for human values, we promise to serve our customers with integrity. - Azim Premji

e) Each Wal-Mart store should reflect the values of its customers and support the vision they hold for their community. - Sam Walton

f) It helps a ton when you learn people's names and don't butcher them when trying to pronounce them. - Jerry Yang

g) Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business. - Zig Ziglar

Posted by K.Sriram at December 9, 2005 5:50 AM

Regarding the Bill Gates quote, I seem to recall seeing that one in the early 80s from Sir John Harvey-Jones.

(TP for customers, JHJ for operations IMHO)

Posted by Ross at December 9, 2005 6:30 AM

Totally agree with Trevor - Just got back from a couple of customer visits. There is no substitute.

I think it is a head/heart thing - You can analyse the stats about customer sat etc and get logically bought in to improvements but it is only when you see/hear it for real that you get emotionally bought in to it.

I find it rejuvinating

Posted by PaulH at December 9, 2005 8:24 AM

Too bad they don't treat their citizens as customers - and their natural resource environment in "God" like fashion - guess the devil is in the details.

Merchantile fascism preaches - " ... do as I say not as I do ... " - read my cute sign and know the state is your "God".

Posted by Sean at December 9, 2005 9:35 AM

Great response Paul - isn't it wonderful to meet customers? - And it beats writing those reports that no one reads.

'Customers are becoming cynical - they can smell bullshit a mile away' said Professor Gary Hamel recently in a Birmingham conference I attended. Another fascinating thing he said was that research indicated 25% of young girls in Finland had actually ended relationships with boyfriends by text message! His point was we really need to think about the implications for relationships between company and customer against that type of back cloth.

As I see it we have two choices; ignore it and die; or embrace it – have a bumpy ride and maybe fail but probably thrive. It really is not good enough to bury our head in the sand as if customers don’t know best - of course they do we all know that. The sooner we realise that front line staff connecting with customers is where the power and therefore the competitive advantage is, the better off we will all be.

I seriously suggest all managers have to ask themselves two questions in 2006;

Number 1 – Can I illustrate HOW I add value?
Number 2 – Can I PROVE I am required?

Posted by Trevor Gay at December 9, 2005 11:40 AM

Okay I am not sure about Tom's post here and those who have posted above:

Tom says and has posted the following:

"Listen to the 'lead' customer! Partner with him ... large OR small." - Tom Peters, The Death Knell for Ordinary

and then Tom posts:

"If you worship at the throne of the voice of the customer, you will get only incremental advances." - Joseph Morone, Bentley College

Are you really sure that the customer is always right ??

1. The customer is king.
1. The employee is king.
1. The employer/company/business is king.
1. The wholesaler/distributer/retailer is king.

Each of the above will always say that "without them" - there is no experience, product, business, etc., etc.

Posted by Jackie Salayscious at December 11, 2005 3:14 AM

Jackie

That's where leadership comes in - knowing who to listen to and when!

It obviously has to be a balance. I have often found that listening to customers has triggered my own ideas. Sometimes it's a process of listening to the customer need and meeting that need your own way.

The one "king" I do fear is "the shareholder is king" - Shareholders may drive business discipline but singleminded worship of the shareprice tends to destroy all the good stuff in a company and it's people.

Posted by PaulH at December 11, 2005 5:11 AM

For a company in China to post a sign declaring "the market decides everything" reminds me of the part in Animal Farm where the assertion is made that "All animals are equal..." It's a good idea, and we wish it were true.

The reality of China's economy is that the market is clearly NOT permitted to decide everything, no matter what the posters on the wall might say.

Posted by Dan at December 12, 2005 8:15 AM