Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit: The Secrets of Building a Five-Star Customer Service Organization |  | Authors: Leonardo Inghilleri, Micah Solomon
Creator: Horst Schulze
Publisher: AMACOM
Category: Book
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Sales Rank: 12,392
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 170
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Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0814415385
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.812
EAN: 9780814415382
ASIN: 0814415385
Publication Date: April 7, 2010
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Product Description
"Filled with treasure and big ideas, this book will help you become exceptional." - SETH GODIN
In a tight market, your most powerful growth engine and your best protection from competitive inroads is this: put every thing you can into cultivating true customer loyalty. Loyal customers are less sensitive to price competition, more forgiving of small glitches, and, ultimately, become "walking billboards" who will happily promote your brand. In Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit insiders Leonardo Inghilleri and Micah Solomon reveal the secrets of providing online and offline customer service so superior it nearly guarantees loyalty. Their anticipatory customer service approach was first developed at The Ritz-Carlton as well as at Solomon's entertainment and technology company Oasis, and has since proven itself in countless companies around the globe from luxury giant BVLGARI to value-sensitive auto parts leader Carquest, and everywhere in between. Now, readers can take the techniques that minted money for these brands and apply them directly to their own businesses. As Ken Blanchard writes, "Leonardo and Micah's philosophies, rules, and winning examples of service excellence will make you want to implement their suggestions immediately in your own organization." Filled with detailed, behind-the-scenes examples, the book unlocks a new level of customer relationship that leaves your competitors in the dust, your customers coming back day after day, and your bottom line looking better than it ever has before. (edited by author)
Book Description
“Filled with treasure and big ideas, this book will help you become exceptional.” – SETH GODIN In a tight market, your most powerful growth engine—and your best protection from competitive inroads—is this: put everything you can into cultivating true customer loyalty. Loyal customers are less sensitive to price competition, more forgiving of small glitches, and, ultimately, become “walking billboards” who will happily promote your brand. In Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit, insiders Leonardo Inghilleri and Micah Solomon reveal the secrets of providing online and offline customer service so superior it nearly guarantees loyalty. Their anticipatory customer service approach was first developed at The Ritz-Carlton as well as at Solomon’s company Oasis, and has since proven itself in countless companies around the globe—from luxury giant BVLGARI to value-sensitive auto parts leader Carquest, and everywhere in between. Now, readers can take the techniques that minted money for these brands and apply them directly to their own businesses. As Ken Blanchard writes, “Leonardo and Micah’s philosophies, rules, and winning examples of service excellence will make you want to implement their suggestions immediately in your own organization.” Filled with detailed, behind-the-scenes examples, the book unlocks a new level of customer relationship that leaves your competitors in the dust, your customers coming back day after day, and your bottom line looking better than it ever has before.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 38
Live introduction to the customer principles of this book from Micah Solomon (co-author) April 5, 2010
ML
23 out of 26 found this review helpful
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1AY2PV6PW2OGB Micah Solomon's customer service keynote (4 minute excerpt) introducing the principles from "Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit" to an audience of 200 executives representing several of the top name brands in hospitality in the U.S.
Clip also includes excerpt from CBS interview of Micah discussing the book and the value of building a five-star customer service organization.
Most useful business book I've read, EVER-which explains its uniquely wide group of fans: Seth Godin. Ken Blanchard, Dan Pink... March 25, 2010
Mary Nashir (Honolulu, Hi)
31 out of 37 found this review helpful
I pre-ordered this book a little bit ago due to endorsements in an American Management Association catalog from some of my favorite writers:
* Daniel Pink
* Ken Blanchard
* Seth Godin
It gets my interest up when I hear Daniel Pink and Seth Godin endorsing the same book, but especially combined with Blanchard (who tends to be of a somewhat different school) I thought this might be worth checking out.
When the book arrived day before yesterday I was pleased to find it to be a non-academic and non-plodding read (it's actually written much more like a real book than a business book), and in fact I polished off much of it that night.
More importantly, I've already started to think through using this information here at my company: this morning I started figuring out how to adapt Micah Solomon's appendix on telephone conversational phrasing to my own telephone scripting here at my company. A likely next step that I'll tackle based on the book's recommendations is to develop my own "language lexicon" as described in the chapter "Language Engineering: Every. Word. Counts." The clear description by the authors as to how to fix off-brand language in a company (and we certainly have that issue here at mine) was eye-opening.
I believe, like the authors, that the right people treated correctly are at the heart of any customer-centered organization, and this book is both philosophical and practical-minded on this point. The authors provide several chapters of clear-cut guidelines for how to improve hiring, onboarding and employee-reinforcement procedures, as well as discussing leadership and its importance in a great organization.
This book is a well-executed balance of up-to-the-minute Online/Internet-related information
("Building Customer Loyalty Online: Using the Internet's Power to Serve Your Customers and Your Goals") and more generalized customer-related information
("The Four Elements of Customer Satisfaction: Perfect Product, Caring Delivery, Timeliness, and an Effective Problem Resolution Process").
Some chapters are purely practical (the great, detailed chapter "Keeping Track to Bring Them Back: Tracking Customer Roles, Goals, and Preferences" for example) and some provide more philosophical underpinning (including the opening chapter: "The Engineer on the Ladder: Reaching for the Highest Level of Service" where the authors introduce their anticipatory service method of building customer loyalty.)
The anecdotes from Solomon's entrepreneurial ventures and related observations (he punctuates one chapter with a lesson from--of all places--"The Sopranos" HBO series: "Shut Up Sometimes: The Artie Bucco Principle" and explains point by point how he keeps humanity and warmth in his own company operations) and Inghilleri's luxury enterprises and background (the "Italian Mama Method" of handling upset customers and the many behind-the-scenes glimpses of the creation and growth of The Ritz-Carlton) are both illuminating and sometimes downright hilarious.
Of course, not all books fit all situations or all readers, but I give Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit: The Secrets of Building a Five-Star Customer Service Organization my highest recommendation if you read business books for the reasons I do: to build a better, more profitable, more economically sustainable business--and maybe enjoy the read along the way.
Take Your Customer Satisfaction to the Next Level April 28, 2010
Brad Shimp (Clyde, NY United States)
16 out of 19 found this review helpful
Customer service is an important element for any successful small business. It also can be a bit of a struggle at times, especially when hiring new people and expecting them to give the same attention to detail as you do. Further, many companies pride themselves on good customer service, but do little to systematize it and really turn it into something special. Enter Leonardo Inghilleri and Micah Solomon, customer service trailblazers and co-authors of the book Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit.
From the book: "The magic happens when you, your systems, and the employees throughout the ranks of your business anticipate the needs of your customers, learning to recognize and respond to the needs of your customers before they are expressed - sometimes before your customers even realize they have a need. That is the difference between providing ho-hum service by merely reacting to customer requests and building loyalty through true anticipatory service."
This book focuses on one key area of your business, your customer service. No matter how good you think you are doing it right now, you owe it to yourself to read this book. Leonardo and Micah have both separately built amazing businesses based around customer service, Leonardo in the hotel industry and Micah in the music industry. They know what they are talking about when it comes to providing good customer service. Even better, they are really good at showing you how you can improve your own service levels.
When it comes to providing exceptional service, every little thing matters. As overwhelming as this may sound, this book provides some pretty good frameworks for systems you can put in place to make sure each detail is covered. Beyond the systems, you need to focus on hiring the right people and getting employees on the same page when it comes to treating the customer right. Every single employee who might have an interaction with a customer should understand the stakes.
The authors also point out that, while every interaction is important, there are three main areas to focus on if you want to make a big impact. The first area is how you handle an issue, or what they call a service failure. When you have a customer upset because something goes wrong, it is not enough to just restore the situation back to what it should have been in the first place. Fixing an issue is a chance for you to shine, and turn an upset customer into a loyal fan. Putting extraordinary effort into recovering from mistakes will go a long way toward making your customers love you.
The other two areas of high importance are your hello and your goodbye. The first interaction with the customer and the last will often stand out in their mind. A warm and personal hello sets the stage for a great customer experience. A caring good bye seals the deal.
Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit will challenge the norms you have accepted for customer service. You will likely see some ways that you can improve, and this book will both inspire you and show you how to do it. In a business world that is being made more personal by things like social media, and with the internet making it much easier for customers to choose from multiple competitors, you need to make sure the customer is king at your business.
Who This Book is For:
Any business who deals with customers on any level (in other words, every business, including internet businesses that don't have a lot of "face-to-face" interaction with customers)
Business owners who want to hire employees who will care about customers as much as they do
Customer service managers and employees
Businesses who pride themselves on customer service
Businesses looking to create more loyal customers
Excellent framework for giving great service August 27, 2010
steve cunningham (Oakville, Ontario)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1XDOPZ86JVA54 If you are looking for a book that will give you everything you need in order to emulate the customer service practices of some of the world's most respected service brands, this book is for you.
How to manual for providing exceptional service May 3, 2010
Brian Schoenbaechler (Marietta, GA)
13 out of 16 found this review helpful
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RFY7I0PH8B3EZ April Book Review from SBC Fulfillment Blog: [...]
Background: I added this book to my Amazon wish list, which in turn posts to my FriendFeed account. Micah Solomon found my post on Friend Feed and sent me an advance (signed) copy, pretty "exceptional service." Micah is the small business guy who founded Oasis Disc Manufacturing. Leonardo is best known for his work with the Ritz Carlton.
Main Points: The main points I took away from the book can be summed up in language, anticipation, and tracking.
Language: The need to be intentional about the language you and your employees use. This includes words to use, not use, and words that are "banned."
Anticipate: Exceptional customer service comes from anticipating your customer's needs. Anyone can hand a towel to a customer who asks for one, but an "exceptional company" hands you one before you have the chance to ask.
Measure: You NEED a system to track your customers likes and dislikes. Additionally, you can track top problem for continuous improvement programs.
Take Away: Your customer service program must be intentional and must incorporate training that constantly reinforces your program.
Conclusion: Great advice from some world class companies. The pages contain golden nuggets for companies big and small (like mine). My only criticism is I would like to see more case studies. Overall this book is a must read. Highly recommended.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 38
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