My First Lesson In Customer Satisfaction

As I was being interviewed recently I was asked how early in my life did I understand the importance and value of "Customer Satisfaction". The first thing that came to me was my Mother (Judy Hardy) because she once told me that I should always work, and treat all others, as though "my mother was right behind me watching me". What a great thing to instill in a young person - or for that matter, any person.

She went on to say "you'll never have a problem if you simply expect that your mother would see and hear everything that you do - at work, and in your life." And I'm pretty sure she WAS actually listening and seeing everything I did (as I got caught 100% of the time) but that statement never left me. What she meant was to be proud of what you do and how you act, at all times, and hold yourself to a bit of a higher standard than many others do.

You really don't want to disappoint your Mom. And it doesn't go very well if you ever lie to your Mom or BS her in any way. So thinking of your Mom when you think of Customer Satisfaction or Client Experience is a good thing. Don't disappoint and don't lie. Easy.

The interviewer asked how I would describe my company's attitude towards "satisfaction" and what I told her is something I think I need to trademark (and it was also not a lie). I said "We treat every employee as though they are our most important customer; and we treat every customer like they are our most important employee." I believe my Mom would be proud of that.