Every 60 days, twelve eBay users are invited to Company Headquarters to participate in the Company’s "Voice of the Customer" program. The invitees visit almost every department to talk about ways to improve service. This focus group goes one step further...every month thereafter, for six months, these same users are reassembled to help eBay explore emerging issues.

As these invited people evolve from merely feeling like mere interviewees to members of the Company, they get bolder in their input and more strident in their allegiance. The by-product of these "customer-devotion creating" conversations has been important to the service enhancements of eBay.

Other service companies, like Duke Energy has formed a "Boards of Customers" who act as sounding boards for new products and services. These customers have become a key neighborhood conduit for feedback and ideas on improvement.

In 1980, my funeral home formed the Family Service Team, a group of professionals and trade persons within our community who agreed to provide assistance with "day to day living needs" to our client families. The Team was formed after we received feedback from client families who told us this was a needed service. It contributed greatly to the success of my funeral home and was another way we differentiated ourselves from the competition.

Go ahead; don’t be afraid to be different. Start your own "Voice of the Customer" program or "Boards of Customers." It will be a wise investment in your future!

"The True Meaning of Personal Service", a new state-of-the-art presentation by Mike Kubasak, the Funeral Director’s Coach. To learn more about it or to schedule this dynamic program for your group, convention or educational meeting, call Mike direct at: 702-345-3212 or e-mail: mkubasak@aol.com