Originally published 24 November 2009. This article is retained from the tCI archive. Law, policy or practice may have changed since publication.
There’s nothing quite like a personal recommendation. The opposite applies too. So an individual’s advice not to touch a particular product with a barge pole is also pretty useful. It accounts or the popularity of such websites as the US-based Tripadvisor, where those who’ve stayed at hotels or taken holidays can tell the world about their experience. The idea spread, and someone wishing to buy virtually any products or service these days can find the opinions of those who’ve already bought them. The Consumers Association and its Which magazine was a forerunner of the today’s customer experience websites, but the principle is the same. Listening to the stories of previous purchasers is useful for future consumers - and it should also be valuable for suppliers, who have the opportunity of improving their offerings as a result.
Public services have now followed suit. There hasn’t exactly been a stampede, but gradually it is becoming easier to find ways to read individual stories from patients, pupils, tenants, passengers or council taxpayers. A good and thought-provoking example of the genre is Patient Opinion – a site for users of the NHS to report on their experiences. The social enterprise responsible for this innovation has succeeded in persuading Health Managers to monitor what patients say, and in the spirit of improved commissioning – the benefits are obvious.
But there are drawbacks. Some people worry that these sites attract the disaffected in disproportionate numbers. The old adage is that dissatisfied customers broadcast their disappointments more enthusiastically than those who’ve been pleased, and the great British public can be highly articulate in voicing its opinions. Yet Patient Opinion finds that ‘thank you’ postings are as frequent as critical comments.
But to what extent is this consultation? Are these any closer to the required ‘dialogue’ than the wide range of satisfaction surveys and other forums, whether electronic or traditional? The raw data collection is just a method of gathering the evidence of customer perceptions, but Managers won’t learn the lessons unless they delve deeper into the issue. Few stories submitted by service users point to an obvious conclusion. When things go wrong, the fix is seldom quite straightforward.
Ideally, therefore, gathering experiences should lead to a more productive analysis phase which might include some dialogue with those who have submitted their stories. Many – though not all - of those who have contributed will be only too happy to explain their views. Indeed failing to follow up some of these stories may leave them disillusioned. They want to be heard, not just counted.
All this forms part of the growing practice of customer consultation. In the context of public services, it is at that juncture where customer consultation meets public policy consultation. There are some significant differences, for the latter will tap into consultee views that are based on values, beliefs, insights and knowledge and much else. In comparison, an individual’s experience is constrained by the particular circumstances of each case, and without a huge sample that can average out the multitude of variables, there is always the risk of unintended bias.
Organisers of significant consultations need to learn to distinguish between advice based upon experience and input based on other factors. They may also need to devise dialogue methods that suited to the different characteristics of evidence. In the emerging world of experience-informed engagement, the gatherers of customer stories have an honourable place, and public bodies of all kinds will need to work with them.
Trigger points
- How does your organisation gather customer stories? And what does it do with the information?
- If you are investing in eParticipation, is there scope to build experience-gathering functionality?
- To understand the potential, visit http://www.patientopinion.org.uk/
- The Institute is currently gathering best practice examples of customer consultation. If you have information you are happy to share.
This is the 149th Tuesday Topic; a full list of subjects covered is available for Institute members and is a valuable resource covering so many aspects of consultation and engagement