Improving performance by listening to customers

As part of its commitment to continuous improvement, Endress+Hauser is piloting a new project to capture customer feedback in a better way. The idea is not only to handle customer complaints quickly and efficiently but also to identify potential improvements to products, features or performance.

A robust complaints procedure is already in place throughout the Endress+Hauser Group, but occasionally an issue is raised that demands more attention. For these cases, associates are being empowered to recognize and act on critical feedback.

The pilot project is addressing two key areas: ideas that can feed into the innovation process and critical complaints. With innovation, a process has been developed to identify both new ideas and quality issues that need to be addressed.

As Thomas Fricke, Head of Marketing Services Division for Endress+Hauser Temperature+System Products, says, “This is a wonderful way to help feed our development process, listen to our customers, and give them the feedback they need. And identifying quality issues at an early stage is proven to result in better products and higher customer satisfaction.”

Recognizing critical complaints ensures they are handled by the right people and brings the customer into the center of the investigation for a better, faster resolution. “All colleagues can call a critical complaint and initiate a quick meeting to alert the team,” explains Thomas Fricke. “That avoids a lot of trouble and delay for us and our customers.”

A diverse group of people from all over the company has been brought together for the pilot, from every department including sales, production, quality and marketing. Pilots are being run in France, Germany, Mexico, Austria and China and within the production centers Level and Pressure, Flow, Liquid Analysis and Temperature+System Products. With the new system already starting to make a difference, there are plans for a global rollout from February 2023.