Sunday, May 2, 2010

Customer Service Geniuses – How Do They Do It, and Can You?

When someone talks about customer service, do you roll your eyes? Or, do you happily recall an experience with a company that transcended all of your expectations? Did you have a delicious meal where waiters constantly refilled your beverage glasses without interrupting your conversation? Did you ever lease or buy a car as a result of a helpful salesman? Or, by contrast, did you ever stay at home for ten hours waiting for a TV repair person who never showed up? The truth is, many companies state in their collateral and on their websites that they provide “quality customer service,” but sadly, many fall short because they don’t understand how valuable this competitive advantage is and how it creates loyal customers for the long-term.

Here are some great books to help your company develop excellent customer service – so that you can add quality customer service to your list of competitive advantages.

The Cult of the Customer: Create an Amazing Customer Experience That Turns Satisfied Customers into Customer Evangelists
By Shep Hyken
c. 2009

The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience, Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
By Joseph A. Michelli
c. 2008

Lexus: the Relentless Pursuit
By Chester Dawson
c. 2004

How Dell Does It – Using Speed and Innovation to Achieve Extraordinary Results
By Steven Holzner
c. 2005

The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture and Coolness
By Steven Levy
c. 2007

Blue Streak: Inside jetBlue, the Upstart that Rocked an Industry
By Barbara S. Peterson
c. 2006

The Southwest Airlines Way – Using the Power of Relationships to Achieve High Performance
By Jody Hoffer Gittell
c. 2005

The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary
By Joseph A. Michelli
c. 2006

The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service Excellence: A Handbook for Implementing Great Service in Your Organization
By Robert Spector
c. 2005

The Wonderful World of Customer Service at Disney
By J. Jeff Kober
c. 2009

Ben & Jerry’s: The Inside Scoop: How Two Real Guys Built a Business with a Social Conscience and a Sense of Humor
By Fred Lager
c. 1995

And, for some amusing final thoughts:

What to Say to a Porcupine – 20 Humorous Tales That Get to the Heart of Great Customer Service
By Richard S. Gallagher
c. 2008

1 comment:

  1. I like your tastes in reading - thanks Debbie! (And I mean the whole list, not just my obvious favorite ...)

    Rich Gallagher, author, What to Say to a Porcupine

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