Companies talk about “customer focus” or “customer obsession” and incorporate those buzz-words in their core values or “pillars” while putting earplugs in and wandering down a path that no customer would have green-lit. I work in Software/IT, and I want to point out some parallels in one of my latest experiences with some areas we really fail at when thinking about serving our customers.

I recently had the privilege to attend my great-uncle’s 90th birthday party, and it was held at a lovely little loft in Ridgewood, NJ (no affiliation). I have dietary restrictions so one of my first orders of business, as the canapes began to circulate, was to flag down someone who could answer questions about ingredients. I stopped the first person that didn’t seem to be on a mission, let’s call him Will, and said something along the lines of, “I’ve got some food restrictions, who can I talk to about that?” Here’s the first point in Will’s favor, and why he became my hero for the evening: He didn’t pawn me off on someone else. He didn’t know the answers to my questions immediately, but he took my questions to the kitchen and came back with answers.

“Let me go find out.”

I’m a firm believer that you don’t need to have all the answers, you just need to know where to get them. Not only did he come back with answers, he came back with a small plate of hors d’oeuvres that were safe for me to eat. Will took the initiative to make sure that I was happy. He took ownership of the situation and made sure that I was taken care of. The evening went on in a similar fashion, with Will checking in periodically to make sure that I had everything I needed. He brought me an entree, unasked, based on our earlier conversation and even checked for dessert options. Hungry yet? Just think about how hungry your customers are for this kind of service.

What does any of this have to do with software development, or my own professional life? Everything. Customer service, focus, obsession, whatever you want to call it is based on a relentless desire to please the customer. What made Will so successful in his pursuit of my happiness? First, when a customer had a request he took charge instead of telling me, “Let me find someone who can help you.” Next he listened, took ownership of the situation, and made himself accountable for resolving it. He cared more about my experience than about how hard his night was going to be. This resulted in an extremely happy customer, and I was ready to give immediate positive feedback. I stopped the manager at one point just to tell them about my experience and to thank Will for making my evening. That’s much better than the kind of feedback you get when you wait for a customer to tell you they’re dissatisfied.

“Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery…” – Agile Principle

Let’s put this in terms of software delivery, and especially how this mirrors a good Agile process. Their company had a standard offering, which a high percentage of the population would be thrilled with. I was a boutique consumer, looking for some customization on their product. In reality I introduced a late change in their requirements, as they were contracted to provide their product with no modifications. They elicited requirements and quickly provided a modified product for my consumption (pun intended) and feedback. I provided fast feedback to them and we continued to iterate through multiple deliveries until the end of our engagement, checking and adjusting as we went along.

This was a situation with an extremely short cycle, but nonetheless you can make clear connections between the experience I had and the experience any customer wants to have whether you’re delivering sushi or software. In fact I was so inspired by it, from a customer service standpoint, that I had decided to write this article halfway through my evening. The next time I want to know how better to serve my customer the first thing I want to do is listen, and then make sure I’m delivering enough to get feedback on until the customer gets exactly what they want. Too many people go through the motions of trying to be customer focused while still failing their customers, and I don’t intend to be one of them.