What is Quality? It is what customers say it is.

So I welcome your suggestions to improve the quality of this Musing by adding, deleting or rewording anything in the Musing.

Please e-mail me at hennessyjim@yahoo.com

I'll issue a revised version in a couple of months.

In this Musing the term customers also includes clients, patients, students, taxpayers, etc.; the term organizations includes businesses, not-for-profits and governmental units of any size. Remember that quality is not synonymous with quality techniques, which range from individual efforts and ad hoc quality improvement teams to simple tools to the sophisticated systems of six sigma.

If customers define quality, then all organizations must continuously find out what customers and non-customers are thinking and saying and doing or not doing about the organization's products and services and all other aspects of interaction with customers.

The organization seeking the voices of customers will pay attention to the vast majority of comments and not be swayed by the small percentage at one extreme who think the quality is great no matter how bad it is; or the somewhat larger percentage who think the quality is poor no matter how excellent it really is.

There are exceptions to putting all the emphasis on what customers say. Most people don't know how to express a need before the technology is invented, e.g., how many of us a decade or two ago knew we needed an Internet. Another exception is the extremely ill patient or his or her family. If the outcome on the operating table is bad, only experts can determine if the quality was poor or the highest that modern medicine could provide.

Customers determine the quality in the rest of the cases by summing up all aspects of the transaction.

In the initial contact were the organization’s employees available, friendly, courteous and knowledgeable? If the contact was by telephone, was the system, if automated, partially or fully, prompt, simple and satisfying? If online, was the web site easily navigated?

Does the product work as promised for as long as promised? If delivered, was it at the time and day promised and not damaged? If written materials are provided, are they clear, concise and accurate? Is the product easily maintained, or if it must be returned for repair, is the process easy?

If it was a service, were all aspects of the organization's personnel efforts or technology supported activities fully satisfactory?

Was the price fair, competitive and viewed by the customer as good value? Were the terms and conditions clear and reasonable? Is the billing accurate and timely?

In short, are the customer impacting errors and do over work minimal?

Please feel free to add anything else your customers complain about or praise you for.

Customers seem to have little difficulty coming to a conclusion and expressing it about the overall quality of their experience with a product, service or organization, no matter how many aspects and details are involved.

Organizations, large or small, ignore the voice of customer defined quality at their peril. No one can say we can't afford to provide customer defined quality, that shoddy work is tolerable – and stay viable. Competitors here or abroad will find a way to do it right.

Customers will seek and find the quality, satisfaction and value they demand and move to those providing it.