Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach To Customer Service

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 160 pages
• Published by: William Morrow
• Edition: 1st Edition May 19, 1993
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0688123163
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0688123161
• Book Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Weighs: 9.6 ounces

From AudioFile
The story of a golfer and his male fairy godmother who guides him through encounters with outstanding service in a variety of business settings is an eloquent parable about customer service. The three-part formula: First, decide on a vision-a level of service that perfectly reflects what you want to give customers. Second, discover the specific requirements and expectations of your customers and weave them into your vision of how to serve them. Third, deliver your vision a step at a time, being absolutely consistent before stepping up the service to the next level. Everyone serious about customer relationships should hear this. T.W. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Review
"A great commonsense approach to customer service" -- -- Jim Pattison President, The Jim Pattison Group

"An easily understood message and one every organization requirements to hear." -- -- Eamon Ryan President, Lexmark Canada Inc.

"Making your customers Raving Fans is the competitive edge today. This book can jump-start you in that direction." -- -- James F. Nordstrom Co-chairman of the Boaard Nordstrom, Inc.

"Our strategic customer service plan is based on Raving Fans. It has helped focus our energy on this critical area. A must read!" -- -- Lynn Posluns President, Fairweather

Reader Reviews
This book is written in "parable" or story telling format and is different to read for most people. If you have read the best seller One Minute Manager or Leadership and the One Minute Manager it is written in comparable form. I have read both of the prior books. First off, the book basically talks about customer service (vs. goal setting & reward/punishment in the one minute manager) and how companies need to offer exemplary service to create Raving Fans, as the authors title it. I was simply hoping to get one good idea/thought out of the book and I did. It was EXCEPTIONALLY easy to read, as I read the 132 pages in about 2.5 - 3 hours total. The book has a lot of dead space and big font so you aren't getting tons of "filler." The authors try to focus on one business issue and address it succinctly. This book is good and bad depending on what you expect to get out of it. It is good because (1) anyone can read this book (2) customer service is horrible in today's environment so it is timely (3) The book provides great illustrations and (4) The authors get the point across. Having said that, they never talk about the business implications of what the characters do. They say that customers love their service or product but they negate to talk about the cost implications. Business is about making money, not being loved by everyone. I love great service and all the frills but, at the end of the day, I have to make it worth the investment to the business owner. Yes, our economy is very much about selling an experience to someone, but there are cost implications to having carpeted floors in grocery stores and full service gas stations that don't price their gas more expensively. There are implications to buying a product at another store and selling it at the exact same price to your customer (what about the price of labor?) In that case you are actually LOSING money, except that the customer is happy..... At the end of the day profits pay for the labor, rent, etc. Businesses have to make money and this part is really neglected in this book. I love that they focus on the customer and finding out what their needs are but they negate to mention where people are in the food chain. What does the customer value the most? Is your business positioned to offer it? Do you offer headaches or tons of value to the customer are a few questions I think of daily? If anyone is looking for a great business book check out The Essential Drucker by Peter Drucker as it is the best book I have read on management and the role of managers, businesses and individuals within a business. Your money and time would be better spent on that book.