Product Description

The last two decades have seen the rise and rise of the service economy, where image - and customer perceptions - are crucially important in building a successful business. Rarely do we buy a hard, tangible object called a 'product'. Financial services sell peace of mind; car manufacturers sell a self-image and an aspirational lifestyle; computer and software companies offer 'solutions' - even food is fashion. Nigel Barlow draws on two decades of experience in 20 countries to argue that the age of service has failed to deliver on its promises. He goes far beyond the standard business-speak cliches of customer service to show why merely satisfying customers is not enough. He explores with original examples and first-hand experinces why service so often falls short of customer expectations, and shows how to think and act to create legendary service in the reader's own organization.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #294104 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
" Simply brilliant! Is there anything left to say about superior customer service? The answer is obviously a resounding ' yes.' This book proves it!" - Tom Peters

Tony Mosely, Executive Director SOCAP - Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals
"After ten years studying best practice, what a joy to find a book that exposes customer service as it really should be, with wonderful vignettes from real organisations to help us appreciate what can be done. A 'must read' for all SOCAP members.'

David Freemantle, author 'What Customers Like About You'
"This is one of the most thought-provoking and stimulating books I've read on customer service in a long while. Not only is it an incredibly good read, but it does offer some profound and new insights into that elusive subject - how to create legendary service. I know at least one thousand companies which could benefit from the lessons in this book."

Customer Reviews

BUY THIS BOOK
Whilst I was at university I spent a lot of time hanging out in bookshops, reading books I couldn't afford to buy. I discovered this book whilst looking for a noam chomsky reader, was struck by its day-glo cover and took a quick glance inside, expecting the usual business speak and motivational rubbish that fills so many of these sorts of books (books that SELL, despite my horror of them!). However, I soon found myself gripped by writing that was truly eager encourage EVERYONE to see the value of good service, no matter where one might be on any ladder. He responded to a gut feeling that I've always had, that there are only benefits to be gained from offering people the best service that you can, no matter how small the service might be or how difficult the customer. The marvellous thing about this book is that he constantly offers you positive and exciting examples which are funny, interesting and memorable, thus having a real effect on you rather than merely leaving you briefly 'uplifted'. Time and time again I have been doing a dull job or task and I've found myself digging deep for a bright smile and a willingness to please because I am sure that what goes around comes around, as demonstrated time and again in this book. Barlow also reminds you of the numerous knock-on effects of taking a 'batteries included!' stance - pride in your work, confidence in yourself and your company, and a much more cohesive and coherent projection of your company (found when a brand starts trying not only to be sure to deliver the service it promises, but most importantly strives to go above and beyond those promises, and soon finds it easy to do so).

Barlow's writing is perfectly pitched. He offers you anecdotes, facts and strong evidence to back up his advice. He makes it quite clear why it wouldn't make sense to offer anything but the best service you can give. And he does so memorably.

I cannot tell you how excited I was when I finished this book, standing under dull strip lighting with an aching neck. I felt like shouting in the streets! I'm not saying that all you readers will feel the same, but I will tell you that I am writing this review some five years after I read 'Batteries Included' and I am still excited, and I still think of his words and find myself trying to encourage other people by echoing his words. So, get your hands on a copy. More importantly, give a copy to your boss and your boss' boss. Get them excited too.

How to get customers to tell tales about you
Nigel Barlow has come up with a refreshingly no-nonsense, jargon-free and, above all, lively read that is a powerful antidote to all the technology-biased 'Customer Relationship Management' guff that is flavour of the month in business thinking at the moment.

Barlow's starting point is that word-of-mouth tales told by customers to each other - which he calls 'service legends' - are a far more powerful communication than we give credit for.

If you doubt him, you only have to look at the research done into how urban myths spread like wildfire (there's a book by a Berkeley academic called 'Work Hard and You Shall Be Rewarded'- written by someone called Dundas, I think - that is all about the power of urban myths in the workplace) to realise that customer-to-customer storytelling can be the ultimate in free marketing.

Barlow cites Disney, Virgin, the US store Nordstrom and one or two others as the handful of service-centred companies that people currently tell each other tales about. My favourite is the story of the customer who walks into a Nordstrom store and insists the manager gives him a refund on the tyres he bought there. The manager listens, agrees with the customer's argument and gives him the refund. The catch in the story is that Nordstrom do not sell tyres. The customer had bought the tyres from the company that was on that site before the Nordstrom store took it over and moved in.

Barlow's point is that whether this kind of tale happened or not is not important. Nordstrom customers and fans spread the story around because it fits with their experiences of the store as the kind of thing that Nordstrom WOULD do. How much free marketing is that for the cost of a set of tyres! Perhaps that wasn't the first time you've heard that story. If so, makes the point, doesn't it?

The author looks at how to harness this power through ensuring your customers experience the kind of service from you that shows your organisation has its 'batteries included' - focused and energised as opposed to the 'lights on but no-one's home' service experience that doesn't treat the customer as a person with individual needs and wants.

Organisations that practise the latter or insincere scripted service are on the way out in this age of authenticity, in which knowing customers will see through the insincere and choose to do business with organisations they like and who seem to like them, argues the author.

Checklists, suggestions for action at the back of the book for each chapter, and a willingness to tackle the big subject - how to develop personal relationships with customers through impersonal digital media as well as face to face - make this book practical and useful.

We've moved into an era in which we have to be creative and surprising (pleasantly so!) if we are to get customers to come back to us. This book should help you be more creative and put the batteries into your organisation's dealings with its customers.

Every employee in a business organisation must have a copy!
If service is the redifinig factor in business, this book makes you sit up and take notice. In its simplicity of thought and action lies it's true value. The concept of thinking outside the box, having a beginners mind and such simple thoughts about a person going blind one month into any job are really like restating the truth. Truth that we always knew but just could not focus ourselves to. All in all a fantastic read for every employee of every company and a definite must for business owners who want to really create a different company from what they have.