I know that the customer should be involved when performing a root cause analysis (RCA) as the result of a complaint. However, in a meeting, the manager of problem resolution and statistical methods told our team that we should view customer-related problem resolution as a “shared journey of discovery” together with the customer. That statement was a wake-up call.

A shared journey of discovery means more than just asking the customer for information or sending him routine updates on the RCA investigation. It means that the customer’s representative is viewed as a true member of the problem-resolution team.

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