Amazon.com

Leonard L. Berry examines some of America's great service companies and finds "nine drivers of excellence" that are behind them all. Discovering the Soul of Service looks at 14 diverse businesses, including the St. Paul Saints minor-league baseball team, Dial-A-Mattress, Midwest Express Airlines, and two of the world's fastest-growing service companies--Charles Schwab and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. "The lessons they teach are clear indeed," writes Berry, a marketing professor and director of the Center for Retailing Studies at Texas A & M University. "Although the companies differ on the outside--the nature, size and structure of their businesses--to a remarkable degree they are the same on the inside, sharing the drivers of their ongoing success." The "nine drivers" that Berry uncovers are the following: Leading with Values, Strategic Focus, Executional Excellence, Control of Destiny, Trust-Based Relationships, Investment in Employee Success, Acting Small, Brand Cultivation, and Generosity. Berry, whose previous books includeOn Great Service: A Framework for Action andDelivering Quality Service, writes that the basis of a successful service organization is value-driven leadership and "building a humane community that humanely serves customers and the broader community in which they live." Discovering the Soul of Service is inspiring--and potentially profitable--reading for anyone in business today. --Dan Ring ... Read more

Reviews (15)

If you only read one business book in 1999, this is the one!
Len Berry really understands what it takes to run a company that delivers excellent service, and he lays it out in a very readable and engrossing way. But he is also shining a bright light on what makes an excellent company, because long-term great service can only come from a great company. This is a wonderful book for anyone who wants to learn more about what differentiates winning companies over time. I found the detailed examples and anecdotes he uses fascinating.

I bought ten copies of the book, and gave them to leaders in the companies with which I am involved!!

Outstanding strategic book on service
The book is the long awaited blueprint for labor intensive service organizations. The case studies have been well selected and cover a wide array of service companies. The nine drivers for sustaining a successful business model have often been regarded as "extras," his research proves them to be "essentials". He also shows us the importance of coupling high tech with high touch in order to thrive in the 21st century. Len Berry's research and conclusions are wonderfully interwoven to make the discovery a must read and must do.

True, sustainable recipe for sucessful Customer Service
It is very difficult for me to work with "interviews and case study" based books since they are almost invariably full of "brilliant" quotes and "success and beyond-duty" stories that, to say the least, sound too good as to be of a sustainable nature in real world. This book is based on experiences and what seems very solid research and, for sure, is not free of this type of passages; and yet, it is one of the most useful and often-referenced books that I own and work with. So, if you will yourself through it, you'll find one of the best and most down-to-earth books on Customer Service. The author identifies nine drivers that can make any organization successful, all of them emphasizing the human nature of the relationship with customers (customer-centered). It is truly a recipe for success, more easily applicable to on-going enterprises rather than to start-ups. From this book the reader can produce very useful check-lists to diagnose the company and its strategic practices regarding their service approach. It can also be used as a guiding document to move a company to a truly customer-awareness territory and, most important, to keep it there. Of special relevance is the author's brilliant exposition in the final chapter "Lessons from World-Class Service Companies", where the reader obtains a rarely seen synopsis of all the good things that excellent companies do "to sustain their excellence". If nothing else, this chapter by itself justifies buying this book and incorporating it to your professional library.

Insightful!
Leonard L. Berry takes an in-depth look at how service can sustain the success of a business in this detailed, footnoted exploration that includes plenty of interviews and examples from the business world. Written authoritatively, yet conversationally, this book outshines similar works because of its thoroughness. Far from a quick-fix, self-help business guide, the book is thoughtful and doesn't rely on the obvious. We [...] recommend it to managers and leaders in all businesses, particularly if your competitive edge rests on pleasing your customers.

Excellent Book!
This book could be titled Discoving the Recipie for Great Organizations. It is one of the best reviews of great organizations and what makes them so. Dr. Berry has provided a valuable contribution to business leaders and managers. Buy this book and apply its wisdom. ... Read more

Amazon.com

People always remember the times they encounter great service, as well as those encounters that aren't especially pleasant. In Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, Fortune 500 consultant Gary Goodman offers advice for ensuring customers recall the former rather than the latter when they think of your company. "Excellence in customer service doesn't come about accidentally," he writes at the outset. He then outlines the basic ingredients that make it an "everyday experience" over the telephone or in person--factors such as an eagerness to solve problems, delivery of performance or satisfaction guarantees, and presentation of unexpected extras. Goodman spells out specific ways to foster such proactive behavior among your work force, along with practical methods that measure their effectiveness. His tips include explicit suggestions for improving communication (i.e., have voice tones crest rather than decline, make sure pronunciation is clear, use "active listening" techniques); checking up on employee conduct (through techniques like customer surveys and direct observation, with the pros and cons of each process examined); and gauging the ultimate effectiveness of these efforts (through detailed assessment procedures for employees, team leaders, and managers). --Howard Rothman ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Monitoring and evaluating Customer Service in detail!
At a Call Center environment the Customers Service Representatives (CSR) are measured thru two main factors: Productivity and Quality. This books relates about CSR Quality and how to measure it. Mr. Berry's teach the reader what's the meaning of each evaluated aspect, like: Pitch, professionalism, courtesy, empathy and much more. When you give feedback to a CSR the most important is define with precision the boundaries of these factors.

When I was a newcomer in Call Centres Quality Assurance, this book was like an angel and I could established a QA Evaluating Form since the first read pages. This is not a theory book this is a very practical one!

Even though this is a must-consult book, I highly recommend it to Quality Managers and Analyst who are starting their careers in a Call Center and have to face a CSR for coaching purposes. For those who are pro's this book must be in their "favourites always consulted" bookshelves.

Best Customer Service Management Books I have EVER Read!
I have read a lot of books on Management, Customer Service and Call Center Management. This is by far the best.

This book gives step by step easy to follow instructions on how to hire the right people and create an excellent training program. The sections on monitoring and measuring service will help you take the mystery out of getting tangible data to evaluate your team.

If you want to know that your customer's are satisfied at the end of every call read this book!

Focused specifically on call center management
Goodman's book provides a wealth of information for managing a customer service call center. While some of the content may be transferable to other customer service settings, the majority of the book is directed soley at call center issues, such as telephone skills, call monitoring, etc. I would recommend the book only if you are managing a customer service call center. ... Read more

Book Description

Finally, the book that all professionals frustrated with fleeting client loyalty and relentless price pressure have waited for -- the first in-depth, client-tested guide to developing lasting business relationships.

What separates extraordinary professionals from ordinary ones? Why are some professionals always drawn into their clients' inner circle of advisers, while others are employed on a one-shot basis and treated like vendors? Based on groundbreaking research, Clients for Life sets forth a comprehensive framework for how professionals in all fields can develop breakthrough relationships with their clients and enjoy enduring client loyalty.

Drawing on insights from extensive interviews with both leading CEOs and today's most prominent client advisers, Jagdish Sheth and Andrew Sobel debunk the conventional wisdom about professional success -- "find a specialty, do good work" -- as hopelessly inadequate in a world where clients have unlimited access to information and expertise. The authors replace these tired conventions with an innovative blueprint, supported by over one hundred case studies and examples drawn from consulting, financial services, law, technology, and other fields, for how you can evolve from an expert for hire -- a commodity -- to an extraordinary adviser. Riveting portraits of both exceptional contemporary professionals and legendary advisers such as Aristotle, Thomas More, Niccolò Machiavelli, and J. P. Morgan reveal how great client relationships are achieved in practice.

Readers will learn, for example, to develop selfless independence, which tempers complete emotional, intellectual, and financial independence with a powerful commitment to client needs; to become deep generalists and overcome the narrow perspective caused by specialization; to systematically build lifelong trust; and to cultivate the power of synthesis -- big-picture thinking -- that is so highly valued by clients.

Acclaimed by leading management thinkers, Clients for Life clearly illustrates the most important attributes and strategies of extraordinary client advisers and shows how you can use them to enrich your own relationships. It provides sophisticated professionals with the tools and insights they need to reap the rewards of lifetime client loyalty. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

This book will transform your role with clients
This is one of the most fresh, insightful and frankly interesting business books I've read in a long time. It goes to the heart of how you add value with your clients, using highly original examples and frameworks that include some fascinating profiles of famous advisors like JP Morgan and David Ogilvy.I found the chapter on judgment ("An Eye for Winners") the clearest and most thought-provoking discussion of this subject I've ever come across; other chapters on trust, independence, big-picture thinking, and the pitfalls of client relationships were equally penetrating. This book is about much more than keeping clients--it really describes how to become a great contributor to any type of business relationship, whether with a client, a boss, or as a mentor to someone. This is a gem of insight that can help readers transform their role with clients.

An Important Issue with Insightful Guidance
In Clients for Life, the authors have succeeded brilliantly at a difficult task: defining the essence of long-term, value-added relationships and the characteristics of professionals who succeed in developing them. This is by far the best and most sophisticated book I have read on the subject of client relationships. It is genuinely insightful, beautifully written, and full of entertaining, relevant anecdotes about working with and advising clients. Sheth and Sobel organize the book around the key attributes of professionals who are able to become great advisors to their clients and develop lifetime relationships with them. They describe these qualities with depth and freshness, and their model rings true. Many people talk about "big picture thinking," for example, or "integrity," but the authors actually define these things in a meaningful way and clearly demonstrate how you can improve yourself. Each chapter profiles a famous historical advisor who was especially skilled at dealing with clients. Much of what I have read on client relationship management has tended to be either simplistic and focused on "techniques" or else overly academic. Clients for Life, in contrast, is a breezy read yet very rich and thoughtful in its approach-it'll make you think hard about your own personal and professional development. I highly recommend this book to anyone who manages clients or large customer relationships.

Delivers as advertised
I'm a personal/professional development coach and have put into practice the wisdom of this book, with gratifying results. What more can I say? Heavy on the theory and rationale, it helped me see that I was going in the right direction giving exceptional service and really welcoming clients into my life. Many tips on how to develop these relationships in language easy to understand. I give it 5 stars.

A consultants bible
I read this book as part of a course designed for professionals who want to consider consulting as a career. The book is very well written and provides the reader with a solid strategy for successful consulting. The theory is backed up with many examples of how people have become trusted advisors and as a result very sucessful with their clients. The book is an easy read and tactics presented are easy to implement.

CLIENTS/ CUSTOMERS - THE BACKBONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!
I have been a professional counsellor for over thirty years, both in business management and psychology, and the one constant that can always be depended upon is change. People change, times change, technology changes, and those who want to stay in the game and win, must be prepared to accept change, keep up with it, and run with it. "Clients for Life" is a well-documented, factual outlook at how to best serve the clients one has and how to hold on to them for however long it is feasible to do so. In my line of work, on the psychology side, there are no shortage of clients but some are short-term and continually change; others are long-term. Rather than become focused on the revenue that comes in each and every month, I found if one concentrates on the clients' needs and focuses on doing the best one possible can to fulfill that need, the revenue takes care of itself!

As the author quickly points out, not all existing clients/customers will last forever. Some die, some relocate, some will try the competition, and depending on the type of business, not everyone will continue to NEED your service or product on a regular basis. Most of the suggestions provided in this book are very general and apply to almost to any type of professional business; but in my opinion, other suggestions are targeted to more specific professions - it is not a one hundred percent, one-shoe-fits-all approach. For example in this province, doctors, psychologists, lawyers, accountants, etc. are prohibited by law from advertising their services, with the exception of business cards. In business management and training, however, one can freely advertise their services. Clients come through word-of-mouth and referrals from other professionals. Word-of-mouth goes a long way, and if existing clients are happy, they will indeed refer your services to others, who in turn will continue to refer your services. As a result, the client base continually escalates but, as this book indicates, a certain portion of your client base will definitely change.

In general, the book is well written and contains some sound and practical advice for developing trusting, professional realtionships. In any profession, one first must earn the respect and trust of the client before a win-win relationship can develop, and any information learned that will allow one to do that will be of great benefit down the road. ... Read more

Book Description

Providing comprehensive information on the business of customer call centers, this guide covers everything from choosing the best site to purchasing equipment to monitoring agents and measuring their productivity. New topics for this edition include integrating IP technology,coping with a down economy, and the "offshore revolution" of India, the Philippines, and other low-cost labor areas. It's all pulled together in a concise, easy-to-read format. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

you don't learn anything
Buy it only if you are a beginner.

Illuminating Read!
This is a definite Must Read for any Call Center professional! All those questions about what system/technology does what and how are answered in one fact-based publication. If you want to avoid the headache of time-consuming hunts through web-sites and talking with marketing reps to learn which product works best for your company, this book is for you. If you are looking for a bubble-gum view of call center management, don't read this book because you just might learn the truth! By the way, get a Call Center Magazine subscription to continue the information flow started by reading this book.

A good general guide
This is a good book to people who want to have an overview at a glance about call centers features and problems. But, according to new economy habits, it is not a technological issue. So, if many points are discussed, such as human resources, real estate, organisation, hardware and products, none of them is focused in a detailed way. It is surely a very good introduction to people starting a new job in call centers environments, but do not expect too much by readin it.

Call
The book is very good and is very concise upto the requirement and relates to all the common aspects of the call centers.

Our company has planned to open up a call center in India so this lead to exploring the contents of your booklet.

The books is extremely the best among available.

A Stellar Handbook!
Keith Dawson has written the seminal book on Call Center technology. Using spare, uncluttered language to illustrate otherwise complex ideas (rare in books about IT), he provides a comprehensive overview of the most rapidly growing facet of the global economy. I refer to the CALL CENTER HANDBOOK all the time and eagerly await the updated edition. Dawson knows his material (subscribe to his newsletter and you'll see what I mean), and masterfully distills his knowledge in an easily read, step-by-step format. The CALL CENTER HANDBOOK should be included in every IT library. A must-read!! ... Read more

Reviews (15)

A must read for anyone in the business!!!
I've read this book twice and took notes the whole way through. Very well written. It's clear the author understands the call center inside and out. His techniques on how to supervise people are well thought out. The books deals with the human element of call centers, and that's what the call center is all about. Very on the money! I'm buying copies for my team leads."

Very Informative Book
I found this book to be right-on-the-money. It covers people to people skills real well. The book is all about call center supervision. It's real life. More importantly, there are literally dozens of fantastic tips that call center managers can utilize to manage and motivate their teams. I found Building Call Center Culture to represent every call center I've ever been in!

Helpful for newbies like me
I'm a new call center director, and have enjoyed this book, and taken it to heart. I plan to use a lot of the ideas in the book in our call center. It has accelerated my knowledge by years, probably. I'll probably make fewer mistakes thanks to the insights he relates.

Very informative!
I manage call center agents and I found the motivational tools and training programs to be very helpful. There are several books about call centers that I have read. This book speaks directly to the call center manager.

Very pertinent to call center management
The ideas are perfect for building a call center management program. We love the performance development plans, the coaching techniques, etc. ... Read more

Book Description

"Finding out what customers can’t or won’t say is key to improving the customer experience. Dan Hill’s terrific book shows you how to accomplish this challenge."
–Bernd Schmitt
author, Customer Experience Management

"Hill takes marketers beyond the traditional consumer decision process and shows the importance of experiential branding. Not only does he describe the fundamental process of creating emotional connections with consumers, he gives tons of practical examples to show how to do it."
–Roger Blackwell, PhD
Professor of Marketing, The Ohio State University
and coauthor, Brands That Rock

"Body of Truth provides the conceptual framework and tools for marketing professionals to use to connect with consumers on an emotional level. Emotions drive behavior and rational thought validates behavior. I can fully endorse this fact based on personal experience with over 3000 research studies. Dan Hill provides the sensory foundation that sets the framework for influencing emotions. If you can influence the senses you can influence emotions and subsequently drive consumer behavior. How does this benefit marketing professionals and ad executives? It provides you consumer insight that will increase the probability that your marketing strategies will impact behavior and ultimately drive revenue for your firm."
–Lawrence Denaro
Chief Executive Officer, Q2 Brand Intelligence

"Body of Truth contributes a fresh and welcome perspective to the discipline of marketing. Dr. Dan Hill’s work will be enjoyed by all intellectually inquisitive professionals who seek to build better relationships with their customers, employees, and channel partners. Synthesizing recent developments from biology and psychology, the book highlights the primary role that sensory-emotive connections play in creating authentic relationships that drive business results. In the end, Hill reminds us that emotions enrich all of the associations that enliven a brand."
–Mike Kust
Chief Knowledge Officer, Carlson Marketing Group

"Buyers are liars! When it comes to traditional research, what consumers SAY and what they DO are often world’s apart. These revolutionary research techniques help uncover the true behavior behind all the words."
–Rob Wallace
Managing Partner, Wallace Church Inc.
global brand identity strategy and design consultants ... Read more

Reviews (4)

It changed my thinking about consumer research.
You might think a book about measuring sensory responses to advertising stimuli would be either A) dry and boring or B) a soft-peddle pitch to get you to buy some expensive consulting gig rigged for sensory measurement...but this book is neither. It's a well-written, entertaining, thought-provoking and practical guide to re-thinking your approach to message development. Dr. Hill shares his experience and rich data with you in an easy-to-read book that breaks down his thinking in short, chewable chunks. I carried the book with me in my briefcase for a week, biting off 5-10 pages at a time between appointments and finding myself itching to get back into it at every available interval. All along the way, I was scribbling notes in the margins and underlining lots of material in anticipation that this would be a book I'd refer back to again and again in my travels with clients and creative types. Dr. Hill's "story line" approach to brand building is something I was able to put into play immediately upon finishing the book. I had a large campaign I was working on for a client and was able to integrate some of the "story line" thinking into our presentation in a way that made me sound like a visionary in consumer research! The client was impressed, the campaign turned out great and now we're anticipating additional work. More than just fad research, this book has staying power. And the examples Dr. Hill gives in each chapter create a veritable checklist for creating ad campaigns that not only circumvent conventional thinking, but resonate with the audience. I highly recommend "Body of Truth" to anyone in advertising, especially the creatives who are responsible for building brands and getting the message through in a cluttered media environment.

Paradigm shift
Interesting to see that what we've learned in depth-psychology and mythology is finding its way into market-research insights. Hill's book is a good read with colorful examples, a conversant style and keen insights. He's offering the industry a paradigm shift that is sure to attract the next generation of achievers.

Insightful read!
I thought Hill's book was a marvelous exploration of the new vistas currently being opened by marketing research. I was especially sympathetic to the central premise that consumers don't really largely make their decisions "rationally." I know a lot of lip service is paid these days to acknowledging that consumers aren't the rational agents supposed by classic economic models, but this book actually takes this proposition seriously enough to go on to suggest how to USE it. I mean the book explains how understanding that people make purchase decisions to a large extent for irrational, emotional reasons can be used to your advantage in a business environment (and is ignored at your peril).

Plus it's really well-written. A great read!

Decent review of research and of some basics
If you're an experienced marketer who keeps up with psychological studies relevant to marketing, you won't find anything new or any blinding insights here. (At least I didn't.) However, if you don't know much about how the brain works and how people respond to different emotionally laden factors like color, stories, images, etc., then you'll find this a useful way to catch up on a lot of scientific findings that have implications for branding. ... Read more

Book Description

Most firms consider the lost customer a lost cause. But in this ground breaking book, Jill Griffin and Michael Lowenstein provide you with step-by-step solutions for winning back lost customers, saving customers on the brink of defection, and making your firm defection proof. Whether your business is small or large, product- or service-based, retail or wholesale, this book offers proven strategies for recognizing which lost customers have the highest win-back value and implementing a sure-fire plan to recover them. It includes the techniques of hundreds of innovative companies who are already working to recapture lost customers and keep them loyal. In today's hyper-competitive marketplace, no customer retention program can be entirely foolproof, but with this guide gives you today's best methods for winning back those customers you simply can't afford to let go. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

A Must-Have Reference Book for Customer Winback
Customer Winback broaches a topic that is applicable to infinitely many businesses. Thoughtful and well-organized, this book teems with appropriate examples for readers on a quest to "winback" customers. The real value in this book is the depth of information Griffin and Lowenstein provide. Rather than simply providing the reader with top-line information, they delve deep into their own knowledge base and extensive research on the topic to present the reader with useful approaches to winning back those much-desired customers!

An important book in the field of loyalty
Customer Winback, authored by loyalty experts Griffin and Lowenstein, is an important new book in the field of customer loyalty. Published in 2001, Customer Winback is packed with information, examples and practical advice about how to improve sales and profits by re-acquiring lost customers.

Customer re-acquisition is an area that has not been well explored before this book. Most companies don't even track lost customers, much less try to win them back. Yet, as the authors point out, your chances of converting a lost customer are usually much better than your chances of converting a new prospect. This simple fact is a good economic justification for developing a winback program.

How do you win them back? The authors don't offer a magic solution. Instead they provide a business process you can use long term, which is of course much better than a silver bullet. It starts with learning why you lost them in the first place, and then deciding who you want to win back. The authors provide some useful tools for approaching each winback situation. One I like is "Second Lifetime Value" which is sort of a reincarnation of the lifetime value concept.

In the USA, the timing of this book (Spring, 2001) couldn't be better. When the economy is shaky, companies want to do everything they can to keep their customers, or win them back.

Chapters:

1- Why Customer Win-Back is Critical to Your Success

2- Managing the Big Three: Acquisition, Retention and Win-Back

3- Winning back a Lost Customer

4- How to Save a Customer on the Brink of Defection

5- Mobilizing and Managing a Win-Back Team

6- When You Think Your Customer is Safe from Defection

7- Building a Customer Information System that Drives Loyalty

8- Targeting Prospects with Strong Loyalty Potential

9- Leveraging the Power of Customer-Focused Teams

10- How to Build a Fiercely Loyal Staff

Gary Kopacek, CEO, Mill City Marketing

A Great Book!
We have utilized Customer Winback as a tool in taking our organization to the next level of service recovery. As a healthcare organization renowned for service excellence, we found that this book assisted us in developing new approaches through the case studies and examples offered by the authors. The information provided is clear, straightforward and easy to translate to any industry. It is refreshing to read a book that focuses of the value of keeping existing customers rather than constant recruitment of new customers. I would highly recommend Customer Winback.

Customer Winback
This book deals with the often neglected area of bringing customers back once you have lost them. Griffin and Lowenstein give the reader numerouse specific strategies and tools for winning back lost customers, saving customer before they defect and "making your company defection-proof."

As I have stated in my review for "The Journal of Consumer Marketing",each chapter summarizes the points succinctly in a method that allows the reader to digest the material for long-term memory.

This book is right for people who have,had, or hope to have customers. It is one of the most comprehensive books on getting,keeping and getting back customers that I have encountered. It is for people who teach marketing and for people who do marketing.

Packed full of great, do-able ideas
Customer Winback has great information and wonderful examples (presented in depth) of what companies can do to address a much-neglected area of customer service--winning back lost customers. It shows how this concept is just as important as emphasizing customer loyalty and customer satisfaction in not only maintaining customers, but keeping them delighted and coming back to buy more.

It is very well organized, well-written and covers a wide range of material. It also gives you many ideas to implement at your own company. Just one chapter provides you with more substance than many entire books. This is an excellent customer service book and a must for customer service managers. I recommend it highly. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

The Greatest Customer Service Related Book...Ever
This is simply the greatest book ever on how to treat customers the way they should be treated, how to handle potential problems, and how to capitalize on it all. In the future, I will be sure to use the practical, no-nonsense advice given by Michael LeBoeuf. His business management and customer service related masterpieces should make up any part of a manager or sales analyst/manager's business bookshelf. His books are not only helpful to those with their own business or those involved with sales or managing a business, but are important for use in everyday life and how to treat people. The popular mantra associated with this book is simple, yet profound: "What gets rewarded, gets done".

Small Busines Owners Manual
This is an absolute must read for all small busines owners. I've had my own small manufacturing business for 19 years and I can assure you - THERE IS SO MUCH TRUTH IN THESE PAGES THAT YOU IGNORE IT AT YOUR OWN PERIL. Plus, Michael Leboeuf is a excellent writer. Buy it!

Every small business owner should read this book!
One of the deadliest mistakes in small business (even worse in large corporations) is to ignore your "back end" sales. By "back end" I mean additional (larger) sales made to your customers.

The only way to continue to market to your customer base is if they are happy with you. Dr. Michael LeBoeuf has spelled out a plan for turning "satisfied" customers (those quiet customers who never complain) into "loyal" customers (those customers who are hyper-responsive to your offers).

I especially enjoyed the startling statistics in the "Something to Think About" section. It points out in a dramatic fashion just how much money dissatisfied customers can be costing your business and how hard it is to detect unhappy customers.

I give this book my highest recommendation...especially to small business owners.

How to win customes and keep them for life
This book has allot of good practical information that you can use right away.

The "benchmark" in Customer Service.
I initially read this book almost ten years ago, I was impressed then. I have read many books since and reread the book a few days ago. I'm even more impressed now. It is the "benchmark" in customer service. An honest, logical, and reasonable approach to customer service. Follow the suggestions, you and your customers will benefit. I e-mailed the author with a question and guess what. I got an answer within HOURS. Finally a guy that "walks his talk". ... Read more

Amazon.com

Betsy Sanders, a former vice president and general manager with the extraordinarily consumer-oriented Nordstrom department-store chain, believes that true success on the sales floor stems from dedicated leadership in the management ranks and a steadfast commitment to related ideals from those at the top on down. In Fabled Service: Ordinary Acts, Extraordinary Outcomes, Sanders outlines the fundamentals for others who would like to achieve the legendary customer-friendly status that is widely accorded her former employer. The outcome, she stresses, is service that is so effective that it actually influences the decisions of shoppers. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Betsy¿s Fables
Once a young lady offered her mother-in-law to a retail outlet that had a no questions policy on returns. In another better known case, a customer returned used tires to the legendary Nordstrom which accepted it politely though it had never ever sold a tire. Fables are born when excellence captures the imagination of the customers.

This book brings out what lies behind the secret of such excellence when it comes to customer service. Such service that becomes fabled comes straight from the heart of the employees. The challenge then is to hire those whose hearts are for whom they serve and to train and lead them into excellence of service delivery.

Through well structured illustrations from companies like SAS, Nordstrom, McDonald's, Wal-Mart, The Ritz Carlton, the message is driven straight to the heart -Make service everything your company is and does. This is accomplished through two sets of employees - those who serve the customers directly and those who serve these employees. Hiring for the right attitude and leading these men and women to excel is the "how" of the story.

The book mostly picks examples from retail, the philosophy and scope extends to all industries. After all, there is no business without a customer. Though all of us agree that the customer is the purpose of our business, at the top of our organization charts we never find the customer. The customer is conveniently forgotten in the organizations' most important document. Not at Nordstrom for example. Here the organization chart is an inverted pyramid with customers at the top. It takes a different mind set to accept such realities. In fact it not a state of the mind, but a matter of the heart.

Recommended for professionals working in today's "knowledge industries". Maybe they will gain some knowledge on what it means to serve customers!

Inspirational - if you're having problems being inspired...
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The book is pretty, nice graphics, good fonts, lots of white space, etc. I personally agree that good serice is a good thing. But the message is pretty simple and the focus is hammer, hammer, hammer... This is like a Tony Robbins publication with a micro focus.
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Here are the seven suggested "Commitments":
1. To Make Service Everything Your Company Is and Does
2. To Be of Service in ALL That You Do
3. To Act On the Belief That You Are in Business to Serve Customers
4. To Serve Those Who Serve the Customers
5. To Design Every Part of Your Business With Service as the Desired Outcome
6. To Be In Business to Serve Society
7. To Create and Sustain the Vision

But these commitments simply don't work in all situations and all companies. The "service is good" idea has been twisted into a religion - and there's a lot of religion here - the pictures include Albert Schweitzer and Mother Theresa! How can I argue against them?

Hopefully I won't be damned because I didn't give it 5 stars.

Solidly Informative
Fabled Service is solid proof of the importance of customer service supported by Sanders's experience with Nordstrom. Businesses strive for customer service, and Sanders provides useful and detailed explanations and strategies for how to attain the basic concept of excellent customer service. Fabled Service is as good as Michael Levine's Guerilla PR: Wired, which explains how to attain excellent public relations coverage in the modern age without busting the budget.

Best Money You Can Spend
If you are in business or are thinking about going into business, this book is a must. No matter what else you know or think you know, these core concepts are the keys to success. Real examples from real life with real meaning. And Betsy Sanders has a way of making it understandable and simple.

This book truly changed my personal & professional life
WOW! Betsy Sanders truly inspired me to delve deep into myself and fill page after page of ideas for customer service that had nothing to do with her industry...this book speaks to any industry or field. Because fabled service is so rarely experienced, but continuously sought after by businesses everywhere, this book is a must for any new hire, established executive or just the coordinator of a small volunteer organization. The essence of fabled service is the people, so hiring and retaining excellent employees is simply a must, as is recognizing their efforts, ideas and energies expended on your behalf. I applaud Betsy and her comprehensive collection of ideas, thoughts and direction to help others achieve true Fabled Service in their own lives! ... Read more

Book Description

Although the field is still in its infancy, there is an emerging art and science of customer value management that is proving its worth. Firms of all sizes that capture and use customer data with the same kind of discipline, passion and understanding they give to operational and financial data are learning that this business practice is well worth the time and money invested.

Mastering Customer Value Management presents the basic concepts of customer value management and the practical tools that have been developed to implement them in business. The book explores the art and science of:

- correlating customer value and business results
- capturing actionable competitive information
- using customer data to determine priorities and drive improvements
- creating a customer focused culture.

Authored by a practitioner with proven successes, the book is a practical guide designed to help readers:

- understand the process and business impact of customer value management
- learn about the tools needed to implement a customer value business approach
- overcome resistance to change
- implement ten critical steps to customer value management
- institute strategies to make the program work.

Written in a friendly and engaging style, Mastering Customer Value Management provides a first-person account of the author’s experiences with a variety of global firms. The book is enriched by contributions from executives, change agents, technical experts and fellow consultants. Examples of customer value management efforts underway are documented throughout the book. Six case studies provide insight and details of successfully implemented customer value management programs.

Based on 17 years of actual global consulting with firms from multiple industry sectors in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and South America, the book offers pragmatic, actionable strategies based on real-life experiences. It walks the reader through the process of translating good intentions and slogans into actions that can have dramatic impact on a firm’s performance.

Rather than offering a "this is how you must do it" approach, Mastering Customer Value Management provides a template, then illustrates how different firms have customized the approach to their own context and made it work for them. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Customer VALUE management nails it!
As an MBA professor, author, and customer service consultant, I had the opportunity to review early drafts of Ray's excellent book. This is a gem. It nails the importance of building customer VALUE. It ties together a rationale for company efforts to serve, satisfy, and create loyalty with the customers who determine the success of the business. The writing is clear and straightforward and the content invaluable for any business person interested in boosting the bottom line (and who isn't?)

Congratulations to Ray and Janice for offering an excellent addition to our field of knowledge. I highly recommend this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Entrepreneurial phenomenon Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of the much-loved Zingerman's Deli, shares the secrets to providing world-class customer service.Zingerman's in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a beloved deli with some of the most loyal clientele around. It has been praised for its products and service in media outlets far and wide, including the New York Times, Men's Journal, Inc. Magazine, Esquire, Atlantic Monthly, USA Today, and Fast Company. And what started out as a small deli has grown to a flourishing restaurant, catering service, bakery, mail-order operation, creamery, and training business.

Booming business and loyal customers are proof enough that the Zingerman's team knows a thing or two about customer service. Now in Zingerman's Guide to Giving Great Service, co-founder Ari Weinzweig shares the unique Zingerman method of treating customers, giving the reader step-by-step instructions on what to teach staff, how to train them, how to implement the training, how to measure their success, and finally, how to reward performance.

Some of Zingerman's time-tested principles:

--Customers who get a great product but poor service won't be as loyal as those who are disappointed with a product but get great service.
--You'll get more complaints if people believe you care enough to listen to them. And that's a good thing.
--Employees who are rewarded, respected, and well cared for treat customers the same way. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Step Beyond the Others
I have been working in customer service training for over a decade now and I've seen a lot of systems come and go. Lisa Ford's insights and ideas about customer service, however, are timeless. This book represent a compilation of the customer service ideas and techniques she has talked about over the years. It's great to have all of it in one place, and in a book format. I had been looking forward to the publication of this book for a while, and I have to admit that it exceeded my expectations. Not only did it talk about what good service is, but it goes a step beyond what other books do and talks about HOW to reach the level of exceptional service in your company. The book includes self-appraisals, ideas for team exercises, and numerous examples of good service and poor service. It is well written, very cohesive and, if sincerely adapted by a company, can turn-around any failing customer service program. ... Read more

Book Description

Tom Peters says "Hal Rosenbluth's story is one of the great unsung business success sagas -- and in this fully revised and updated 10th anniversary edition of The Customer Comes Second, Rosenbluth and his co-author Diane McFerrin Peters offer proof that his leadership style is one for the new millennium.

The secret of his success, and that of his company, Rosenbluth International is simple: Hal Rosenbluth concentrates on his employees first, and his customers second. This is a formula that has worked for more than two decades, and has transformed his company from a small family business into a global industry leader, grossing over $6 billion.

In this classic on counterintuitive management practice, the entrepreneurial genius and visionary leader of Rosenbluth International shows you how to use exceptional service to win in any industry!

This insightful and compelling book reveals new ideas for hiring, motivating and managing employees, and shows how best to integrate technological innovation and creative solutions into the everyday work experience to ensure that your employees -- your company's greatest asset -- win you the best customers and propel your business to the greatest heights of success.

Rosenbluth's tried and tested methods show you how to build highly effective teams, inspire loyalty and initiative, and turn your workplace into a hotbed of synergy where people produce consistently incredible results.

For more than ten years, the strategies and ideas in this book have galvanized CEOs, entrepreneurs and managers everywhere, making fans of business leaders and thinkers like Jeff Greenfield, Scott McNealy and many others. These secrets continue to prove themselves today as Rosenbluth International has rapidly emerged as the foremost travel management company since its industry’s devastation following 9/11. Find out how Hal Rosenbluth's winning ideas can transform you and your company: by putting your customer second, you're guaranteed to win! ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Common Sense and Company Culture
As an Executive Coach and a close observer of many corporate cultures it did my poor old tired heart a world of good to read this book. If what Hal Rosenbluth says about his company is even half true, it puts his organization at the forefront of employee value and relationship management. Beyond all that, it makes perfect common sense. Why we would think in our wildest imagination that an employee who does not feel valued by his employer would not transmit that lack of appreciation to his customers, is a mistery to me. The first 100 pages of this book are not be missed by any company who truly wants to improve their workplace culture, increase the productivity of their workforce and cut their turnover rate down dramatically. Read it and implement any one of the outstanding programs explained within and watch s shift in morale and productivity start right away. This book is a keeper and an excellent reference source. I could not recommend it more highly.

business book nut
I am an avid reader of business books, and if I gain just one or two usable ideas from a book, I consider it worth my time. This book is a stand-out among management books, because I got not one or two, but at least a dozen solid ideas I can implement right away. I have shared it with all my top level managers, and have wathced it being shared throughout my multi-national organization. It is a gem, to be kept within reach in one's office -- not with the countless other books that sit, read once, on most managers' bookshelves. I highly recommend it for anyone who cares about the success of their business.

Salmon swim upstream
I don't think I need to tell any educated person that a review from a disgruntled ex-employee needs to be taken with a grain of salt, if not a whole handful (9/26/02). Rosenbluth is not a perfect company, and Hal never pretends it is but the lifeblood of his company is his belief that every member of the company is a valuable contributor. His book does a great job of conveying that value proposition and how others can make it work.

Although many companies preach an employee empowerment model few practice it. That's why Rosenbluth's mascot is the Salmon - we swim upstream.

Refreshing...
When I saw this title, I had to get the book. Managers could learn some valuable lessons by listening to these authors. The heartfelt chapters on dealing with the after effects of 9/11 were a great insight on hearing how executives dealt with this American tradegy. As a manager, I will definitely be using some of these simple, inexpensive, ideas within my team.

Great Ideas/Great Results!
This Book was a great inspiration to me. It was filled with great innovative ideas for anyone starting a new company, as well as those struggling to breathe new ideas into their well established companies.
We have already implemented several of the innovative ideas that
Rosenbluth has shared with us and we look forward to introducing more as time goes on.
It is refreshing , in the sea of business self-help books, to find one with such creative suggestions.
I highly recommend this as a must read if you are looking for
information sharing by a team that has emerged as a leader in one of a kind thinking! ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A manual for daily living!
I have been working in the computer help desk field for almost 2 years and before that for 18 months in Marketing Communications. Reading this book and Delivering KYSOS has convicted me of many errors in attitude and performance and shows that excellent customer service does not have to be drudgery and can really be fun!

Furthermore, as a side benefit, I have begun to apply KYSOS in my personal life as well, and am really enjoying it. It has also made me aware of excellent service when I receive it, and I now feel obligated to compliment the deliverer (and sometimes the manager!) rather than simply be served and move on.

You don't have to work in a traditional Customer Service role to benefit. No matter what your work is, you have customers - your bosses, shareholders, executives, your secretaries and clerical help, your vendors, etc. And if you are out of work, your potential employers and interviewers are your customers!

Don't buy this book or any in the Knock Your Socks Off series unless you are prepared to make some basic changes in your general attitude that will make your work and your personal life more rewarding and a lot more fun!

Managing Knock Your Socks Off Service
Managing Knock Your Socks Off Service is a must have book for anyone in the service industry. All companies have consumers, either internal(employees) or external (customers), or both. Zemke & Bell have created a simple, yet intricate formula for great customer service. First, there must be a vision for all to follow & it must be communicated to all. Great customer service is a critical factor in today's economy and will continue to be in the future. If you can provide great customer service first for your employees and allow them to be a viable resource for you, then they can carry on that vision and are able to provide knock your socks off service to your customers.
If you are in management now or will be in the future, please read and learn how you can provide great customer service to your company, employees, and your customers. Success can be within your reach, if you apply the philosophy within this book.

A Must Have For Any Organization
This is a great book. It provides many great suggestions as well as reminders for anyone in customer service. Managing Knock Your Socks Off Service explains the important points for customer service in an easy to read format.

KYSOS Reflection
As a college student, I found this book very helpful not only for my future career in Consumer Services, but also in my currant part time position. One thing I have gained from this book is confidence. I feel that KYSOS did a great job in covering necessary topics and explained each with great detail. The real life stories and examples helped me put things into perspective and apply them to my currant job. I now have learned that the basis of quality customer service is not how much money the company makes, or how many products we produce, but by the many other topics covered by this book. It all starts with hiring the right people. I really enjoyed this book and I will refer back to it many times in the future!

The Building Blocks That All Businesses Must Have
Managing Knock Your Socks Off Service by Zemble and Bell is a great resource book to have around. Not only for those who are just starting a business and want great customer service, but also for those companies who are in need of wanting to improve their customer service front-line to be better and those who already have a number one rated customer service. The book is a great way to explore how to train, reward, and empower your employees and self, but also how to retain your employees, how to get to know your customers and find a purpose for your business. In the end, hopefully not only will you be more happy and willing to achieve for yourself but for the company you work for as well.
To me Managing Knock Your Socks Off Service, refers to the foundation of building a number one front-line customer service for any business. Without the right steps I believe the company will be lost. I say Managing Knock Your Socks Off Service is the foundation because each part of the book not only builds to different levels, but each part of the book reflects back to each level, giving even more meaning behind the reason to have the level. Where if you miss a level or part of the book, you are missing a level of your front-line customer service. Making customer service a customer oriented service will make the company benefit even more because it has been proven that it costs more to get new customers than to keep old ones coming back. ... Read more

Book Description

CRM (Customer Management of Relationships) was supposed to help businesses better understand their customers and increase efficiency. Yet most companies are not getting the return they expected. Is it possible to make your customers happy, and, at the same time, improve ROI? Is there a practical, affordable way to get customers to tell you what they really want?

In Why CRM Doesn't Work, leading international marketing consultant Frederick Newell explains why it's time to change the game to CMR. CMR allows you to empower customers so they'll tell you what kind of information they want, what level of service they want to receive, and how they want you to communicate with them—where, when, and how often. It is a bold solution for business people at all levels in all industries who want to stay ahead of the curve in the development of customer loyalty. Newell shows by lesson and example why the current CRM isn't working, what needs to change, and how to put the CMR philosophy to work at your company—without additional expense. You'll read case studies of good and bad relationship marketing from companies as diverse as Kraft Foods, Procter & Gamble, Budweiser, Charles Schwab, Dell, IBM, Lands' End, Sports Authority, Radio Shack, and Staples.

With this book, you can build long-term relationships and bring in profits instead of relying on one-time sales. Why CRM Doesn't Work is important reading for companies of every size that are trying to satisfy and sell to today's consumer. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Insightful!
Customer Management of Relationships (CMR) is not a tactic or gimmick - it's a new way of looking at your business. Author Frederick Newell promises that CMR will put your customers where they should be: at the forefront of your company's efforts. Newell, an international marketing consultant and leading Customer Relationship Management (CRM) authority, explains that a strong relationship with customers is essential to success. Although his book is unnecessarily repetitive at times and poorly organized, he provides excellent advice for companies already on the road to improving their customer interactions. Valuable testimony from experts accompanies numerous case studies. Whether you took a ride on the CRM train, or not, if you want better customer relationships for your business, we think this book may be your ticket.

Put Customers in Charge of Defining Your Relationship
Why CRM Doesn't Work is an excellent discussion of why most companies are disappointed in the results of their CRM investments in shiny new technology to attract and retain profitable customers. The basic problem: Companies are trying to use new tools to manipulate customers in ways that customers hate. An example would be a company that asks about all of your preferences, and then sends you enormous numbers of offers for things you aren't interested in. The solution: Use a management process that lets customers decide what relationship they want with your company, and then develop capabilities that efficiently provide what's needed for that relationship. An example would be all the fun programs that Budweiser provided on-line for those who wanted to enjoy participating in its Whassup?! advertising campaign.

As many people point out in the book, someone will sell you lots of technology bells and whistles whether you need them or not and whether or not you are prepared to use them properly. With this book, you can overcome that problem by using the thoughtful process outlined in the book to make your whole company move into an effective, customer-focused direction. I especially liked the way that it focuses on those relatively few current and potential customers who could make a real difference.

Although the message is a simple one that you could have gotten from a magazine article, I found it helpful to read the many detailed examples in the book. Those that described customer frustrations were the best as reminding me of how badly most companies treat their customers.

I should admit my bias in liking this book so much. On pages 172 and 173, Mr. Newell repeats two of my favorite stories about why humans have stalled behaviors that serve no current purpose . . . both of which appear in a book I co-authored in 1999, The 2,000 Percent Solution. In the first story, a woman cuts off the end of a ham before roasting it. When asked by her husband why she does that, she says that her mother always did. It turns out that her mother's roasting pan was too small for a ham . . . so that's what started the habit. In the second story, experimenters douse monkeys with cold water when one reaches for a banana. Soon the other monkeys will attack any monkey that tries to reach for a banana. Gradually change all of the monkeys in the cage, and they will still attack any monkey who tries for a banana . . . even though none of them have ever been doused with cold water.

So break out of your old habits of manipulating customers to reduce your costs and improve your profits so that you can establish a mutually advantageous and pleasant relationship that makes it easier for profitable customers to do more business with you.

Why did I grade the book down one star? Well, in a lot of sections the book is very repetitious. In some sections, one set of ideas follow another that don't seem to fit together . . . but there's no discussion of how they connect . . . although Mr. Newell clearly thinks they do.

If you agree with his premise and just want to work on doing the right things, you can skip forward to chapter 16 which focuses on the change process that he recommends.

What the CUSTOMER Wants is What Really Matters
Two years ago, in the midst of CRM furor, no one would have paid attention to "Why CRM Doesn't Work," however, this summer it has made its entrance with impeccable timing.

Newell introduces the idea of customer-managed relationships (CMR) and also shows by example (and spices it up with humor) how often CRM initiatives fail because most companies are still product--- and not customer--- focused.

Newell then goes further and explains how any business can discover why, when, how, and where customers want to be contacted....simply by realizing who today's customer is, and by listening to them. With these ideas in mind, it really makes you wonder how any company can miss these clues and continue to alienate customers as often as they do. With this book in hand, perhaps more executives will be able to create a truly customer-focused culture; one that lets the customer take control.

Beyond these insights and ideas, Newell questions how technological, financial, and other changes of the future will effect how CRM is being done today, and how CMR can be an answer to many of the most pressing issues.

This book truly speaks to businesspeople in any industry, at any sized company, and at any stage of their CRM initiative (even if they don't yet have one)

This book entertains while also encouraging its readers to think hard and formulate their own answers to their company's problems. CRM - such a grand (and wonderful) business strategy, still needed a new approach, and Newell delivers it.

CMR is long overdue
Frederick Newell explains throughout exactly why CRM needs a readjustment (and so much more). This book is peppered with thoughtful insights and never-thought-of ideas for any CRM or Marketing executive wanting to justify a new CRM implementation or one who is desperately searching for a clue to begin the rebirth of an existing one.

Until this book, marketing and other business professionals everywhere may have been wondering where they should look for some fresh answers to their marketing initiatives. My suggestion is that they look right here, because this: CMR (Customer Management of Relationships)... is precisely what Customer Relationship Management will, and must, become.

Frederick Newell has done it again only this time with a lot more moxie. As always, he sees the future of this important business strategy and points the reader in the right direction.

Insightful!
Customer Management of Relationships (CMR) is not a tactic or gimmick - it's a new way of looking at your business. Author Frederick Newell promises that CMR will put your customers where they should be: at the forefront of your company's efforts. Newell, an international marketing consultant and leading Customer Relationship Management (CRM) authority, explains that a strong relationship with customers is essential to success. Although his book is unnecessarily repetitive at times and poorly organized, he provides excellent advice for companies already on the road to improving their customer interactions. Valuable testimony from experts accompanies numerous case studies. Whether you took a ride on the CRM train, or not, if you want better customer relationships for your business, we from getAbstract thinks this book may be your ticket. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer relationship management (CRM) is one of the hot topics in marketing and information systems today. Customer relationship management is a business strategy that provides the enterprise with a complete, dependable, and integrated view of its customer base. A CRM system brings together lots of pieces of information about customers, sales, market trends, marketing effectiveness and responsiveness. CRM helps companies improve the profitability of their interactions with customers while at the same time making those interactions appear friendlier through individualization. CRM's purpose is to enhance customer satisfaction and retention by alignment of customer business processes with technology integration.
As the Internet and digital technology change the ways business is conducted, the academic disciplines of information technology and