>Re: David Markham's Reply:
David, while it is nice to see that you are customer- or client-oriented
as a provider of public (?) human services, I must beg to differ with you
regarding the notion that the "customer is always right." To be sure, the
opportunity to navigate and choose among options in the marketplace is a
"freedom" that we all would like to have, whether to obtain products or
services. Still, even when one goes to a hairstylist, typically, we
expect the provider of the services to educate, enlighten, consult, etc.,
with us regarding what looks "best." It is our ability to vote with our
feet that, hopefully, captures the imagination, expertise, and integrity
of the provider to do his or her best, too. At the same time, there are
many occasions where providers of services are breaking new ground,
introducting new mental models, challenging our assumptions about
ourselves, etc., that may not at first appear to be in the customer's best
interests, preference zone, etc.. Integrity as a provider, however, also
must be factored in the equation. For better or worse, the customer is
NOT always right. Heresy, you say?! How can one say this and still build
a "market-focused organization"? It's all part of the whole; it's all
part of the learning process. Being conscious of what George Berkley
calls "organizational pathologies" (see his Craft of Public
Administration) and dealing with them in a balanced fashion may offer you
some useful guideposts in this regard.
-- patakos@PrimeNet.Com (Alex N. Pattakos, Ph.D.)