Customer satisfaction is defined in ISO 9000:2000 as a ‘customer’s perception of the degree to which the customer’s requirements have been fulfilled.’

Indeed, quality management systems can assist organizations in enhancing customer satisfaction on a continual basis. The quality management system approach encourages organizations to analyze customer requirements, define processes that contribute to meeting customer requirements (including product technical performance) and to keep processes under control. A quality management system can provide the framework for continual improvement to enhance customer satisfaction.

Customer Satisfaction may be one of the most important and fundamental changes of your quality management system.

The 1994 standard had elements of this clause in sections 1 and 4.14 (complaints handling system), but for the most part, the requirements are new and emphasize that organizations shall monitor information relating to customer perception as to whether the organization has fulfilled customer requirements.

In other words, the new standard goes much further with the customer satisfaction concept. It is no longer acceptable for organizations to merely ask customers if they’re satisfied. The new standard requires that customer perception be measured to see the degree of satisfaction, which provides data for the organization to improve its performance. Companies may discover that some customers continue to purchase their products or services, but they may not be ‘satisfied.’ This requirement gives the customer an opportunity to communicate their ‘discomfort’ and, again, provide an opportunity for improvement.

It should also be noted that using customer complaints alone does not provide an adequate perception of customer satisfaction. Complaints are only an early warning signal. On the other hand, the standard doesn’t require expensive market research surveys. The customer perceptions could be obtained through a combination of customer scorecards, product survey cards, sales trip reports, returns and complaints.

In a nutshell, organizations should consider this clause to be the most important thing they do as a business. If customers aren’t satisfied, the business won’t be around long—and that’s guaranteed. Perception is reality for business, and this needs to be measured and improved continuously.

The standards writers intentionally left out a requirement for a customer satisfaction procedure —but it is encouraged. At the very least, organizations need to develop a process to determine the methods for obtaining and using information relating to customer satisfaction so that the business can improve. It is also important for training purposes so that the organization has a consistent policy on customer satisfaction for all new employees.

‘Customer satisfaction’ is recognized as one of the driving criteria for any organization. In order to evaluate if the product meets customer needs and expectations, it is necessary to monitor the extent of customer satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction. Improvements can be made by taking action to address any identified issues and concerns.

The revised standards improve customer satisfaction significantly because the management system described in the ISO 9001:2000 is based on management principles that include the process approach and customer focus. The adoption of these principles should provide customers with a higher level of confidence that the product meets their needs and increases their satisfaction.

In terms of specific measurements, organizations can use a slew of metrics to measure customer satisfaction, customer dissatisfaction and customer perception, and more important, improve on those issues. Indeed, many organizations that used the 1994 standard already have the some of the required infrastructure in place to measure customer satisfaction in an appropriate manner. Here are some examples of methods used to track this type of data:

• Warranties
• Customer/user group studies
• Questionnaires
• Surveys
• Customer complaints
• Product returns
• Information from trade associations
• Direct information/feedback from customer