Defining Customer Satisfaction

 What is satisfaction? What does it really mean to us? Many of us think that satisfaction means being happy, while others think of satisfaction as an overall satisfaction with life. Satisfaction is not only about being happy but also about reaching a state of peace in one's life. Below are some of the answers to the questions of what is satisfaction and how it can help us achieve satisfaction in our life.

Contentment is the emotional state of satisfaction, which is viewed as a psychological state, perhaps even more subtle and welcoming than a state of blissful unawareness. In its simplest form, contentment is a general mood of acceptance that is achieved by accepting one's own situation. For example, a customer that purchases a product is said to have "purchased the product." Similarly, a customer satisfaction survey would include questions about a customer's expectations, beliefs, views and opinions regarding the customer satisfaction survey question in the above example.

On the other hand, great satisfaction is a subjective view of the world. It is considered to be a superior state of psychological well-being. Great satisfaction is the end product of contentment. We call this contentment "the good feeling" or "the feeling good". A great satisfaction is not the same as satisfaction.

Many people have the mistaken idea that satisfaction and customer satisfaction are the same thing. But that is not true. According to George K. Easterling, author of Understanding Consumer Decision Making, "satisfaction, which is the emotional response, occurs when a customer gets what he expects or when his expectations are fulfilled." This is a semantic differential between the two concepts. In a customer satisfaction survey, a respondent is expected to express his satisfaction or his good feeling about a product if he receives it.

So, if a person defines contentment as an emotional feeling, then he may be mistaken in his notion that satisfaction is the end result of such feeling. According to George Easterling, "what people want is to be able to use their possessions to satisfy a variety of needs-to be able to buy what they want, to listen to the radio, to read a book, to make a meal, to take part in a conversation, to do many things." Easterling goes on to say, "idental satisfaction" is not the "fulfillment" of a man's aspirations. People want and need to be able to do many things with their time, money and energy. Hence, according to Easterling, "contentment is not the absence of satisfaction; it is the mastery of satisfaction."

Both customers and management have a stake in defining satisfaction. The definition of satisfaction should take into account the fact that we all have different needs and aspirations. It is up to management to identify what the company must do to meet customer service satisfaction. If the company fails to do so, then the perception of the company may be that it does not have the creativity, flexibility, creativity and innovation required to remain relevant in an increasingly competitive environment. In the end, management's definition of customer satisfaction will likely vary from that of its customers.