Aside from IBM employees, no one was more important to Watson Jr. than the company’s customers, and nothing was more important than pleasing them – whatever it took. He understood that customer satisfaction lied at the centre of his business success. In the budding new computer industry, marketing would make the difference in attracting new customers, but it was only the satisfied customer who would return to the company time after time.
“Service has always been the hallmark of our company, and looking at the years ahead, I think that the margin between our success and failure will be measured more and more in terms of the service we provide,” said Watson Jr. “I am speaking not only of the service we agree to provide by contract but also of that quality of urgency expressed by people who desire to do a little more than is expected. To respond cheerfully and willingly to the needs of customers, fellow employees and everyone we meet in our business contacts.”
“Nothing can bring disaster more rapidly to a business and to its people than a breakdown in communications and in understanding,” he said. To this end, Watson Jr. made sure that all his employees understood that customers were the company’s number one priority – and everyone was to be treated as a potential customer.
Despite having sole responsibility for the success of a multinational corporation lying heavy on his shoulders, Watson Jr. boiled down his operations to a simple formula: make your customers happy and you’ll be around to work another day. To this end, Watson Jr. knew it wouldn’t take much to create the loyal customer based he wanted; all he had to do was ensure that IBM demonstrated a sincere desire to meet their wants and help them with anything they needed. Machines were bound to fail, Watson Jr. knew that all too well. But, he also knew that customers were willing to tolerate mechanical problems so long as they had someone – a real person – to care when something went wrong. It was here where IBM was able to excel.
From his customer service plan to the very way he interacted with customers, Watson Jr. liked to keep things simple. “One of the ironies of our business is that we can transmit the most complex information in a fraction of a second with the computer – but when we use the written or spoken word to communicate with one another in everyday situations, we often fall back on jargon which obscures our meaning,” said Watson Jr. “We put together long words where short ones will serve, fancy phrases where plain talk is needed. My father used to urge people to "talk net" and he had the right idea.”
“I think my most important job in IBM is working with anybody who has a problem,” said Watson Jr. Whether it was his employees or his customers, Watson Jr. understood the importance of pleasing the people upon whom his very business was based.
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