[The following news item is from the October 1993 edition of
_Quality_Progress_.]


      DON'T FALL INTO THESE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION MEASUREMENT TRAPS

     Although most companies measure their customers' satisfac-
tion, many fall into the seven traps of customer satisfaction
measurement, according to the Executive Report on Customer
Satisfaction, a newsletter for senior managers concerned with
customer satisfaction. The Customer Service Group in New York,
NY, publishes the newsletter.

     In the report, Michael Hepworth, head of Hepworth and
Associates in Toronto, identified the seven traps:

     1. Thinking you know what your customers want. Most compa-
nies do not overtly assume that they know what their customers
want, but many do design satisfaction questionnaires without
first getting input from their customers.

     2. Launching a survey without a measurement process in
place. Some companies gather a lot of information but then don't
know what to do with it. Before a survey is launched, companies
need to know what the data will be used for, how to use it to
achieve that end, and whom to survey.

     3. Getting help from a generalist. If a customer satisfac-
tion survey is not developed by a specialist, companies can end
up with a professional-looking survey with sampling errors, ques-
tionable information, or uncertain reliability.

     4. Asking questions that only give you global values. If the
survey doesn't ask the right questions, a company might learn,
for example, that the customers think its product's quality is
poor, but not learn why they think it is poor.

     5. Misusing importance scales. Because importance scales
provide absolute rather than relative importance ratings, they
are an intellectual exercise for survey respondents, who say "Of
course that is important to me." The factors that drive loyalty,
repurchase, and positive word of mouth are much more subjective
and have to be inferred statistically.

     6. Missing the link between variables and customer behavior.
Customers will identify many factors that they believe are
important, but those factors might have no effect on their
behavior.

     7. Assuming that all customers want and need the same level
of service. The homogeneous customer is a myth. To determine what
value means to each customer, you need good qualitative work,
demographics, pyschographics, and a reliable sample. Without
these, you might be making strategic decisions based on
half-truths or incomplete information.

     To request a free copy of the April 30, 1993, issue of the
Executive Report on Customer Satisfaction detailing the seven
myths of customer satisfaction measurement, contact The Customer
Service Group, 215 Park Ave. S., Ste. 1301, New York, NY 10003,
(212) 228 0246, (212) 228-0376.