BUS4101 WEEK 1

Customer Satisfaction

It is important to remember that serving only the external customers, or the customers who buy or lease

the products offered by a company, is not enough. The company also needs to focus on its internal

customers, or employees, whose work depends on that performed by their preceding employees. For

example, the sales department can perform well only when the production department produces a good- quality product. Similarly, the shipping department can only perform a quality job when the members of the

sales department have provided accurate shipping information at the time a customer placed the order.  If

each employee or department performs quality work, then the overall quality of the product or service

offered to external customers will improve automatically. 

Customer satisfaction is key to the survival and pro�tability of any business.  If the customers of the

organization begin to feel that the product is of inferior quality, or that it is overpriced for the level of quality that is being demonstrated, then the organization will suffer.  Thus, concern for the opinions of

customers is vitally important to the provision of a quality product or service.  Organizations that

successfully hear this “voice of the customer” and incorporate it into the organization’s decision making will

have a better competitive position than organizations that do not pay attention to customer wants and

needs. 

The Plymouth car company once expressed the nine most important words that they knew as “Satisfy the

Customer.  Satisfy the Customer.  Satisfy the Customer.”  While Plymouth is no longer a brand name being produced by Chrysler, its mantra still echoes in the quality plans of all organizations.  See the Supplemental

Media entitled “A Case Study In Customer Service” to see a discussion of another organization’s attempts to

satisfy the customer. 

Additional Materials

View a PDF transcript of Case Study In Customer Service 

(media/week3/SUO_BUS4101%20W3%20L1%20A%20Case%20Study%20In%20Customer%20Service.pdf? _&d2lSessionVal=vlG2w4GLnr9erI10ZCLnbwrV8&ou=90832)

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