What's the Secret?

What's the Secret? gives you an inside look at the world-class customer service strategies of some of today's best companies. You'll learn how companies like Disney, Nordstrom, and The Ritz-Carlton get 50,000 employees to deliver world-class customer service on a consistent basis- and how your company can too. Packed with insider knowledge and a wealth of proven best practices, author John DiJulius will show you how your company can emulate the world's best customer service providers.

Preface vii Secret Service Terminology xiii Acknowledgments xv Part I: The Customer Service Crisis 1 1 The Smoking Gun 3 Definitive proof of the return on investment in providing superior service 2 The State of Service 25 Is your company part of the customer service crisis or customer service revolution? 3 World-Class Service Sins 45 What prevents companies from being world class? 4 Service Aptitude Level 57 What level is your company? Part II: The Customer Service Revolution 75 5 Commandment I: Service Vision 87 A clear purpose of why the business exists 6 Commandment II: Creating a World-Class Internal Culture 111 Attract, hire, and retain only the people who have the Service DNA 7 Commandment III: Nonnegotiable Experiential Standards 133 Experience standards everyone must follow 8 Commandment IV: Secret Service Systems 149 Utilizing Customer Intelligence to personalize their experience and engage and anticipate their needs 9 Commandment V: Training to Provide a World-Class Customer Experience 181 Systems and processes that remove variation and provide a consistent customer experience 10 Commandment VI: Implementation and Execution 205 How to go from ideas on paper to consistently executed concepts 11 Commandment VII: Zero Risk 219 Anticipating your service defects and having protocols in place to make it right 12 Commandment VIII: Creating an Above-and Beyond Culture 243 Constant awareness and branding of how to be a hero 13 Commandment IX: Measuring Your Customer’s Experience 271 What gets measured gets managed 14 Commandment X: World-Class Leadership 295 Walking the talk Index 315