Sir, - Rosita Boland's article on good and bad customer service (November 24th) highlighted the indifference shown by too many Irish companies towards their customers. However, competition is a wonderful corrective, as illustrated by the Kerry carpet anecdote.
For local retailers serving the Irish customer, that competition is coming increasingly from our EU neighbours. The Celtic Tiger is attracting all sorts of businesses into the Irish market place. Why? Because, in many cases, they believe they can provide superior customer service. How do they know? Because they consult their customers regularly, and they respond to what they hear.
There is no shortage of customer satisfaction surveys carried out here. But how many buyers of these surveys really use the results to improve their customer service? My company helps our clients turn customer satisfaction from a management philosophy into practical, day-to-day reality. Sometimes, however, the reaction of companies we approach is a bit like Augustine's prayer: "Give me chastity and continency, but do not give it yet." In other words, they are saying that a high level of customer satisfaction is very laudable and probably good for them, but not essential at the moment.
Presumably, readers of Ms Boland's article included a fair number of senior managers in Irish service companies. What message should they draw from the article? I suggest it is this: do not assume that you have a divine right to the continued loyalty of your present customers. If customers are not satisfied with their present suppliers, they will seek (and increasingly find) a real alternative. - Yours, etc., Jim Bruce,
Managing Director, Customers for Life, Walkinstown, Dublin 12.