Customer Service: Extraordinary Results at Southwest Airlines, Charles Schwab, Lands' End, American Express, Staples, and USAA

by Fred Wiersema

Imagine a company that receives five times as many letters of praise as complaints. Picture a business for which tens of thousands of customers line up, unsolicited, to open an account. Think of a global corporation that continues to set record earnings year after year, despite increasingly heavy competition. Then envision knowing the keys to these companies' successes--and using them to your company's benefit. Southwest Airlines, Charles Schwab, Land's End, American Express, Staples, and USAA--at a time when "customer service" might seem to be more about talk than action, the six companies profiled in this book have gone beyond lip service to surpass the competition by putting quality service at the core of their value systems. In Customer Service, the second book in the BusinessMasters series, you'll discover the innovative strategies these six companies have used to triumph through their commitment to excellence in customer service. Edited by noted customer service expert and New York Times --bestselling author Fred Wiersema, this definitive guide offers field-proven philosophies, how-to tools, and invaluable insights gained from years of providing superior service to millions of customers across the country and around the world. Discover how Southwest Airlines has built a $3.8 billion industry by going beyond the call of duty time and time again. (The airline's agents have been known to drive passengers to their destinations several hours away in rare cases of delays or schedule mix-ups!) Find out how Land's End keeps its promise of reliability no matter what (even during a UPS strike, when the company kept its policy of quick delivery by creating its own mini-post office)--making it the nation's leading apparel catalog. And learn how Charles Schwab has developed a system to turn customer complaints into opportunities that actually strengthen their bond to consumers. The strategies of these companies vary, but their principles remain the they anticipate consumer needs and find every way they can to meet them, constantly challenging themselves to improve their service and demonstrate their respect for their customers as individuals. Through these inspiring profiles you'll also

256 pages, Hardcover

First published August 26, 1998

Reviews

[James Pritchert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this a few years ago during a period when part of my job was to manage the customer service training both inside and outside of the organization.