The goal is to always meet the customers' requirements and always satisfy their needs. Meeting the internal customers' requirements accurately, completely, and on time will contribute to the satisfaction of the external customer. There will be situations, however, in which individuals will be faced with priority decisions between satisfying external customers and satisfying internal customers. The rule is that the external customer always comes first. When an external customer priority impacts internal customer requirements, communications should be initiated as quickly as possible to minimize the impact on the internal customer.
Satisfaction comes about when customer expectations are met.
All customers should clearly define their expectations in terms of requirements. Everyone should feel responsible for the two-way flow of information to assure total satisfaction with every customer interaction. Customer satisfaction should be an integral part of any quality improvement process. Goals, objectives, and action plans for customer satisfaction should be established, measured, and managed along with the other strategic parameters of the business. This is a summary of a two-year study conducted at a small manufacturing company in a small town in Pennsylvania.