Know who your real customers are

A couple of days before the nation celebrated its 51st Merdeka celebration, I was informed that a client whom I had just delivered a program to is having second thoughts about continuing the program with me.

The feedback from them was thank you for the learning but for the following batch, we might not want you to do it … Well, not exactly in that manner. As professionals, we want to know what motivated them to this action and to know how we can then work on making things better for everyone. This provides an avenue for self improvement.

The consultant who got me the job had sent me an e-mail listing some of the feedback on the program provided by this client, which may have triggered their actions. Going through the e-mail, my immediate reaction to its content was one of disbelief. The areas of concern listed were not ones that I would consider to have a detrimental effect to the overall program.

I re-read the assessments of the participants. Most rated my delivery and the program good; a few noted that the examples given were practical. There were, however 2 who felt that their specific needs were not met, and that I could have done better. This was to be expected – in every programs that I have conducted, there will be some sessions where I was not able to please everybody.

I am pretty sure other trainers go through this situation. And we view all feedback constructively, taking the less commendable ones as opportunities to improve. The level and quality of service, as I always point out, is in the experience of the customers.

However, if the client chose to discontinue my services merely on the unfavorable words of a few as compared to the positive learning experience gained by many, then I have nothing much to say of them.