Submitted by cgibson on
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Hoping Part 2 will address a couple of the "what next" conversations as well. Working in a support function, I find two problems tend to crop up when we get feedback:
A lot of customer feedback is (predictably!) along the lines of: "better, cheaper & faster, please... but with no more resources." How do you work constructively and realistically through this issue?
Also I've often seen bad feedback from "bad customers"; eg. where their own team is dropping the ball in providing necessary inputs etc. How do you address failings in the customer organisation, particularly if the manager giving feedback isn't aware (or won't admit) any problem exists? Or is this the wrong time to do that?
Keep it coming!
Jumpstarting - How to handle hard conversations?
As you now by now, we don't address those 'what's next' conversations. We will, but there's plenty here with just the first session.
And stop trying to change your customer organizations. They know they're the customer. If you want them to change, you better be perfect for months on end.
Yes, internal customers are harder than external ones (the economics make it easier, believe it or not). One does not work constructively through the issue by any other way than by providing one's service better, faster, and cheaper.
Sure, you can give them peer feedback.. but more on that in a future cast. (Hint: you better have incontrovertible data).
Mark
Jumpstarting - How to handle hard conversations?
I do agree with Mark: you better have incontrovertible data
What we do is tracking and measuring.
This is useful first of all for us: to see trends, to see results when we change something in the way we behave. And it's useful when someone is coming to ask for something better: at least we perform like this (measure), if they have better ideas they can came and try .. and we will see measurable results.
PierG
Fair enough
Shall be looking forward to more on topic in future. :?
PierG thanks for chipping in - agree it makes a lot of sense to have something objective to hand; seems a "golden thread" to me to always take that little bit of extra time and effort to set up measuring of stuff so discussions can be based around data not opinions.