How Do You Define the Word “Customer?”
December 14, 2007I’m a firm believer that defining the word “customer” in broad strokes should be on the list of “best practices” in business. Who is a customer? I would suggest you define it as anyone who benefits directly from the work you do.
If you’re a customer service rep, pointing out who your primary customers are is an obvious distinction. But who else benefits from your work? How about the IT people with whom you interact when you’re trying to get an external customer’s question answered? And what about the accounts receivable person for whom you get accurate credit card information? Or even the marketing people who use the data you collect to market additional items from the product line to that same customer? Those are internal customers.
Treating your internal customers as graciously as you do your external customers is a surefire way to success. Imagine how much more cooperation you’d get from accounting when YOU need something if you ALWAYS got them the most thorough and accurate information you could. And how much more help would you get from IT if you ALWAYS served their needs at the highest possible level?
Treating ALL of your customers - both internal and external - with the same high level of respect, urgency and attentiveness is simply good business.
Reflections:
How do you treat your internal customers? What can you do to bring the “internal customer” approach to your business?
Written by Lori Jo Vest on www.lovethemup.com
You identify two very valid categories of customer: internal and external. One more nearly invisible and often ignored customer needing service exists. The one I have identified and use in my teaching is the compassionate customer care of the self. We are all the third customer. If we ask to love our customers as ourselves, we must treat that original self with care, kindness, and acceptance. Internal love of the healthy kind builds compassion and empathy, the essential elements of care for others, of a natural excellence in customer service to all other customers. I define a customer as a person with a specific need and other needs. We all have needs we want fulfilled. We can do that for self, and we can do that for others. Wonderfully, the more I fulfill the need and needs of others, the more I have fulfilled them for myself. Compassionate customer care serves everyone well.
Thank you for your thoughts and my opportunity to respond
Laurence
Hi Laurence,
I appreciate your insights. When customer service providers are self empathetic, their awareness of how they feel and what they need puts them in such a better place to bring themselves into balance. And from that peaceful place they serve others best. Thank you for your comment!