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I took on this course because of its relevance in the light of today's consumerism and in some cases, crass materialism. Everyone, without exception, is a consumer. Everyone who consumes a product, service, a by-product, a process, a piece of information is a consumer. By this token, even a cannibal is a consumer. Whether what is consumed is legal or illegal and acceptable or unacceptable is immaterial when we are talking of consumption. In the prehistoric times where the rule of might governed, practically anything can be consumed as long as one has the strength to obtain it in whatever means possible. In later years, it's not might but wealth which dictates consumption. In modern times, however, honorable men and women felt that consumption without moderation led to greed and henceforth set certain rules that regulate human consumption. That is why today, there are rules in trading and consumerism. Regulators have come as far as promoting consumer welfare in a materialistic world.
Customer is derived from the root word custom meaning habit.
As consumers acquire more financial means to satisfy their needs and wants, they
have also become more discriminating. Modern business organizations recognize this development. In a market where consumer is sovereign, businesses compete not merely to meet customer expectation but exceed it. Competition made customers more sophisticated than they have ever been, and their expectations are explicitly implied by the fact that there are several providers vying for their custom or habit. Expectations are raised as service levels, added value extra, discounts, and packages are available elsewhere, and each provider ups the ante to gain an advantage. The fitness for purpose of a product or service is taken for granted as being part and parcel of customer expectation. Any deviation results in customer dissatisfaction and the immediate result is the business has one less customer on each occasion. Meeting customer's expectation, however, is judged on many elements other than the 'output' or its more tangible aspects. A customer determines the quality of service by assessing the elements that are important to them. Customer perception of whether or not an organization has met, exceeded or failed to meet their expectations is formed by comparing their original expectations with the service outcome and the service itself once they purchase a product or service. The extent of discrepancy between customer's expectations or desires and their perception would make the difference in making a customer loyal.
In the context of education, a professor is said to be well-prepared if he or she comes to class ready for the day's lecture or activities and is able to deliver well. It is expected that with his or her background and experience, he or she will have the right skills and tools to teach the class well. It doesn't make him a good professor, though, if he or she is simply equipped with these skills and tools. It is taken for granted that he or she may be able to deliver a good lecture or prepare a good evaluation tool in each and every class because this is part and parcel of what a professor should be able to do.
What would make a professor meet and exceed the students' expectation is the sensitivity to provide a good learning environment for each and every student regardless of abilities, race, color, and religion.........to be able to render discipline and inculcate responsibility without instilling fear....... to be able to walk with head held high because he or she dealt with each and every student without fear or fervor. For me, this is what makes a professor a true mentor.
Being an educator for a number of years, I meet former students who are now co-equal as they have also become part of the professional world. I'd smile everytime they would acknowledge me and address me with the same respect proudly telling me what they do. Whenever a student succeeds in the game of life, I know I have exceeded my own expectations.
This is my lecture for tonight.
PS: Akala ko aaraw na......... Pag-alis ko, matindi ang sikat ng araw. Pagsilip ko sa bintana sa opisina, madilim na naman ang kalangitan at mukang uulan maya maya. Pang-apat na araw na maulan.... Hindi nga mainit pero marami rin naaantalang bagay-bagay..... At di ito ang tamang panahon sa ngayon......
8 comments:
I agree. companies do whatever it takes to exploit consumerism in the portion of the market segment they cater to. what determines whether or not they have met or exceeded the expectations of their market is not if they have studied the market well, or produced a well researched and developed product, but how the market responds to what is being produced. its not about if the product sells or not, but if the product keeps on selling, which is to say, loyalty, particularly, the loyalty of the customer. Loyalty of the customer is the only way to determine that their expectations were met. we have seen such cases in the film industry, when, a long awaited movie is about to screen (e.g. cartoons becoming real time films, with real actors/actresses) and the movie on the first few days grosses HUGE yet on the following days it proves to have very meager returns reported. this is due to expectations that were very high, which led to consumption, thereafter to the consumer's disappointment, it did not quite meet their high hopes. therefore in essence, it's not about, did the movie make money, its, did the movie keep making money that determines the meeting and exceeding of customer expectation...
Brain Fart.
Trying to achieve customer satisfaction, moreover customer loyalty, has indeed raised the competition to a whole new level. With all the products and service providers all vying for customers who are able and willing to pay with certain amount of money for products/services, there are companies who have not learned, there are also some companies that have learned to whet the appetites of their customers, and there are some that have made an overall improvement to quality, but that of which also comes with a much higher price.
Yes. The competition for products and service providers have definitely risen sky high but I find that it still does not prove that the quality has also increased.
I think many merchants have misunderstood the competition or have taken advantage of the competition. Because of the competition, they made it appear that excellent quality can only be provided at such an exorbitant price thereby giving mid-level merchants a reason/alibi to render mediocre services. Now that I"m thinking about it, there may actually be a mutual relationship between the two. The top-level merchants have their excuse to charge exhorbitantly while the mid-level merchants have the excuse to have poor quality. But I am not stereotyping of course, but that is just how I see how the market has evolved and still is.
Not to be negative, I have had many memorable services wherein I had been satisfied and expectations have also been exceeded. And on a regular basis, I don't always leave the store/shop angry or dissapointed, but maybe because I've already expected that I might not be "satisfied" and shoud settle for it anyway because I may not have much choices in the same proximity.
Oh well, that's all folks!
Porky Pig
P.S.
It's not about initial sales, but the continuity of it.
Still farting
Brain Fart
After reading the blog. I realized how important consumer to the business and they play a major role in a company. They are the king and we should know what they want and need. There are really different expectation and each class. Class A,B,C,D different needs and wants. We should meet the expectation of people with good quality, service. Employee should be handle with love and care. Dissatisfying consumer which means not meeting consumer which could lend to having low profit. Consumer has a high expectation that we owners should meet.
CocoChanel
@ brain fart
love the pseudonym.... it's so you. Do you think consumer expectations are way too high that companies cannot cope up? Should companies keep up with the expectations in the hope of gaining customer loyalty?
@ porky pig
you're actually a betty boop in my mind.... Why do you think consumers like you have a poor perception of the state of products and services in the market? Is this shaped by experience? Is this preconditioned?
@coco chanel
very chic and cool.......
I pose the same question I posed to brain fart.... To what extent should companies go in satisfying each and every consumer demand?
@coco chanel
very chic and cool.......
I pose the same question I posed to brain fart.... To what extent should companies go in satisfying each and every consumer demand?
Companies should be able to know every demand of a consumer but it does not mean that they will follow everything. Satisfying each consumer can be hard because consumer have different demands that should be handle with care. Maybe satisfying them with proper care or service. In some products add some features on a product for a specific type of a consumer. It would be good that organizations would be able to hear what consumer wants because in the end of the day they are the boss. They are the one who could tell if the companies could be a successful or not. I think we should hear the consumer and revised what needs to be revised or improve.
cocochanel
Yes. This poor perception stemmed from personal experiences which then led to future preconditioned perception because consumers become skeptical after a series of bad experiences. An example out of a plethora of bad ones would be my watch experience for expample. I am sure that there are reasons for why the story I am about to tell happened. The management of the company is to be blamed mostly and primarily but the employees also have their own faults. I visited a luxurious watch shop, not as luxurious as Rolex or Philip Patek but a few notches lower. Let's say one premium watch from that watch would cost a hundred grand and up while the most basic would start from thirty grand and above. I went there to get the battery changed of a limited edition premium watch from that watch brand. After 3 days, to my very disbelief, I went back to claim the watch and instead of just replacing the battery, they had managed to break the watch too! The crown that is used to adjust the time of the watch got totally dismantled and could not be returned. The shop was gonna have me bring the watch home with this broken crown and took the chance thinking I wouldn't notice it. What if I had gone home, went scuba diving or swimming or just plainly used it while washing my hands, I would have irreparably damaged this limited 100k worth of watch. And I demonstrated to them and showed them how the crown was already dismantled and they're still giving it back to me, expecting me to come home with it while their technician, as everyone knew in that room, had clearly broken the watch. Worst of all, the manager was rude, unfriendly, and unapologetic and to think that this is a swiss watch luxury shop. I made myself clear that I would complain to the head office in Switzerland and tell them how their branch here has clearly broken the quality and reputation that this watch brand stood for. They fixed it for me in 4 months but this problem could clearly have been avoided if they had just done it right the first time.
A one time bad experience doesn't make me a distrusting consumer but it does happen most of the time. Most consumers are not even asking for something complicated but there are private companies here in the Philippines that do not want to pay SSS and other benefits to employees and do not want to invest on proper and adequate training, so in the end, their quality suffers, and everything turns out to be more costly for them. But such companies as these just don't see that.
Porky pig
Yes i do believe that customer expectations are too high. yet i do not blame customers. what we have seen from time past is the unrelenting pursuit of man for that certain something that they deem as the current void. it is due to what some call an insatiable desire for consistent consumption of particular commodities at a given time. the only reason that demand for something goes low is because it went high for something else. therefore there mustn't be complaints that arise from different directions that the expectations of customers are too high, yet acknowledge the state of the consistent necessity of consumerism and somewhat, "exploit" it, so to speak. which is in a very brief statement, "keeping up with customers expectations."
to the question of "should companies keep up with the expectations of customers in the hope of gaining customer loyalty?" my answer, no, it should not keep up, yet it should even exceed customer expectations... already... beforehand...
this is to say that, companies must be the front line forerunners of the expectations of customers. they go before, meeting demands before there are demands.
Brain Fart.
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