Several months ago I read a humorous last-page story that appeared in the Smithsonian Magazine. The author shared customer reviews of futuristic tourist trips to Mars. It made me wonder what impact there might have been if the Internet and online reviews had existed 100 or more years ago when the Model T Ford was manufactured and sold.

""""" Best invention in the New World! October 20, 1908

B. Smitherson (Detroit, Mich.)

I just bought my first horseless carriage—a Model T Ford. It is the best invention in the New World. Henry Ford is a genius!

""### Give me my old horse-drawn carriage back! February 1, 1912

By R.A. Johnson (Highland Park, Mich.)

My neighbor raved about his Model T and he talked me into purchasing one. The first time I took my family out in it we got stuck in the mud and had to be pulled out by a team of mules. Give me my old horse-drawn carriage back!

""""# Wish it came in colors other than black! November 13, 1913

By H. Troutman (Lansing, Mich.)

My husband bought our first automobile—a Model T Ford. He loves driving it to work and the family enjoys our Sunday afternoon picnics more than ever. I just wish it came in colors other than black.

How might those comments have changed our relationship with our customers 100 years ago? How would our world now be different?

Our modern focus on customer service and customer feedback in the United States began in the 1990s with Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Following World War II, Deming was sent to Japan to help the Japanese rebuild their economy. He and other quality experts taught them to use statistical process control, and to focus on quality for the customer.

If sites like Amazon.com and epinions.com had existed 100 years ago, instead of the end of the 20th century and early 21st, Deming might have seen a very different America. I imagine that the focus on customer satisfaction and customer delight would have been embedded in our economic system much earlier.

So what can we learn in 2012 from this imaginary history which had the Internet and online reviews 100 years ago?

• Customers can be influenced by online reviews when buying online products.

• Some customers are influenced by online reviews even when they plan to purchase a product or service at a bricks and mortar store.

• If the Model T had been reviewed online, Ford might have decided to offer it in different colors sooner.  So it is not just quality that must be our focus, but pleasing the customer and innovation as well.

• It’s not just products but services that may be reviewed online in sites such as Angie’s List.

• If your products or services aren’t reviewed online (or you aren’t online at all), perhaps you should be online.

Online reviews certainly are not the end-all in customer feedback, but we have to acknowledge that they aren’t going to go away. When the reviews are positive, we can focus on our continuous improvement; and when the reviews are negative, we may need to refocus on basic quality and innovation to meet the needs of our future customers. I guess Henry Ford is lucky that he didn’t have to worry about what was said online about his Model T—but the rest of us need to keep this in mind.

		Adrian Bass is a quality consultant and lifelong learner, who believes that learning is a prerequisite for quality improvement.  She is a board member and volunteer for Capital Quality and Innovation (CQI).