cover image Delight Your Customers: 7 Simple Ways to Raise Your Customer Service from Ordinary to Extraordinary

Delight Your Customers: 7 Simple Ways to Raise Your Customer Service from Ordinary to Extraordinary

Steve Curtin. Amacom, $17.95 trade paper (208p) ISBN 978-0-8144-32808

Consultant Curtin offers a cheerful though obvious jaunt through the basics of customer service. Great customer service isn’t a Herculean task, he notes; people don’t want the wheel reinvented—they want solid, courteous service. To get there, managers should focus on helping employees understand the difference between the two sides of their jobs: job function (the daily tasks of work) and job essence (the true priorities of the job). Job function, in other words, is “sweep the store”; job essence is “pay attention to detail.” Customer service must be made the most important aspect of each employee’s job. Curtin uses case studies to illuminate his process for reaching those all-important repeat purchasers who provide positive word of mouth: express genuine interest, offer sincere and specific compliments, share unique knowledge, convey authentic enthusiasm, use appropriate humor, provide pleasant surprises, and deliver service heroics. While his approach is solid—personalize your service to each customer, and treat customers like guests in your home—the content is slim and unoriginal, and anyone seeking the skills to provide excellent customer service will likely already understand his advice. Agent: Michael Snell, Michael Snell Literary Agency. (June)