Your Customers Can Often Be Your Best Advisors!

There are certain truths about life and customer bonding. One is the "restaurant test." Just as surely as the sun rises each morning in the east, the best restaurants will invariably ask how everything was after you completed your meal. Often they even ask during the meal.

And just as surely as the sun sets in the west, those restaurants with poor food and service don't bother to ask...because they don't care. The good ones ask because they do, and that care is reflected in their excellent food and service.

Surveying your customers about their opinions will not only give you valuable information, it is one of the greatest complements you can give. When you take the time to ask and the time to subsequently listen, it's a powerful, positive message. (Often the customer gets asked, but then the time and concern to listen is cut short. Try to avoid falling into that trap.)

It doesn't matter what business you are in...you learn much more from your failures than your successes. If you can get your customers to identify your weaknesses before they grow into big problems, you can easily take the steps to correct them.

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