How often do you ask your customers if they are satisfied with your product or service?
If you never ask, you may never know. You have a customer who is either satisfied or unsatisfied. It’s like Schrodinger’s cat. Schrodinger, an Austrian scientist, designed an experiment where a cat was placed in a box with a flask of poison and a radioactive source. When a Geiger counter detected a radioactive particle, the flask shattered and the poison was released, killing the cat. The experiment, which was meant as a thought exercise, argues that until the box is opened, the cat can considered to be both both alive and dead.
Much like the cat, your customers are satisfied and unsatisfied until you open the box and check. Checking might not be a pleasant experience, if you’re dealing with an unsatisfied customer, but at least you now know. And that may also lead to a learning opportunity to improve your product or service.
More companies are beginning to understand the importance of customer satisfaction and have started actively soliciting information. You may be asked when calling a company, if you’re interested in participating in a brief survey when the call is concluded. Or you may have an employee at a retail store point out information on the bottom of your receipt asking you to complete a survey about your experience.
Don’t wait for someone to open up Facebook or Twitter and tell the world how unhappy they are. Don’t wait for an unsatisfied customer to tell colleagues, co-workers and friends how much they dislike the services you are providing.
The longer you wait to ask someone if they are not satisfied, the more likely you will end up “dead” to them, much like that poor cat.
If you want help designing a way to make sure your customers are satisfied, please reach out to me. My email address is [email protected].