Introduction

When times are tough and customer dollars are scarce, it’s the companies

with exceptional customer service that weather the storm. If you want to

keep customers coming back and happily recommending you to others,

now is the time to ramp up your customer service to the highest possible

level. Even when the economy gets back on track, those with extraordinary

customer care enjoy the most profits.

Writing this book has been an adventure. We were a year into a recession,

and the financial markets were melting down. Our hometown of Detroit

saw two of its ‘‘Big Three’’ American automotive manufacturers ask

the U.S. government for a bridge loan for billions of dollars. Companies all

over the country were struggling to stay afloat. The timing for a book designed

to help businesses retain their customers couldn’t have been better.

We wrote Who’s Your Gladys? How to Turn Even Your Most Difficult

Customer Into Your Biggest Fan to uncover the vital secrets that thriving

companies—small and large—know about customer service. Gladys is an

actual customer (we’ve changed her name, of course) who appears in

the first chapter of this book. As we heard more about her during our

conversations with the managers of Professional Movers, one of the first

companies that we interviewed, she became our poster child. Gladys represents

that challenging client that all of us have encountered. Everyone

in business has a Gladys or two—a customer or perhaps a coworker who

requires a high level of skill to manage. Your Gladys may be a man,

woman, or child. Your Gladys may be young or old. As you read our first

chapter, we’d like to invite you to think of your Gladys as someone who

can help you grow your business and your customer retention rate.

There’s enough academic theory and ‘‘be nice’’ fluff out there; we

wanted to give you substance—proven ways to keep your customers happy

(so that they don’t become Gladys) and turn even a hard-core Gladys

into your biggest fan. We feature 10 companies, large and small, in a

variety of industries. Every one of them has either experienced significant

sales increases as a result of its customer care, won industry accolades for

superior customer service, undergone a radical transformation that took

its customer service to new levels, or taken an innovative approach that

creates a bond of loyalty with its clients.

Here you’ll find the stories of those companies, told to us by the

fabulous, compassionate people who run them and by some of their empowered

front-line employees.We gleaned a significant amount of immediately

actionable information from these exceptional executives. They

openly shared the inner workings of their organizations. They answered

every question we asked. They told us about challenging situations, their

unique customer service methods, and what they’ve learned from the

mistakes they’ve made. We were amazed at their commitment to helping

others by sharing their thoughts and recommendations so intimately.

While the companies that participated in this project come from

different industries and have widely disparate methods, they have several

core elements in common. Each of these organizations has an overall

commitment to honoring its customers, its employees, and its vendors.

All of them humanize the workplace and value customer relationships,

focusing on providing a positive emotional experience. They value caring

and kindness, rather than just getting the next dollar. (An abundance of

wealth, higher rankings in your industry, and greater retention of highquality

staff are happy side effects of focusing on what really matters.)

These companies are dedicated to providing the best possible service

to their customers, and they are steadfast in their efforts at continuous

improvement. They do business with passion, with integrity, and in a way

that generates goodwill. Their methods can be applied in any business,

including yours. The best part? This book gives you concrete steps that

you can take now to bring exceptional customer service to your company.

To help you benefit from what these extraordinary companies have told

us, we’ve designed the chapters to tell their stories, pulling out crucial lessons

and offering tools that you can use right now to transform both your

personal approach and your company’s customer satisfaction levels.

Every chapter gives you ways to make exceptional customer service a

part of your company’s unique personality. You’ll find specific details that

allow you to translate the information into immediate actions easily. For

example, the Canfield Training Group shared how it manages workshops

with hundreds of participants, some of whom make outrageous demands.

It demonstrates how compassion solidifies client relationships, shows how

tough love can be used to guide customer behavior, and offers an inspiring

role model for emotion management skills in its director of training, Jesse

Ianniello.

Another chapter focuses on Singapore Airlines, a global airline carrier

that places a strong emphasis on delighting its customers by continually

exceeding their expectations. Its employees are well trained and well

managed. They love caring for their travelers in a way that makes even

the longest transoceanic flight feel refreshing and worth an increased

ticket price.

Whether you’re starting at zero, halfway to fabulous, or going strong,

you’ll find practices that you can put into place immediately to take your

customer service to the heights of exceptional. Continuous improvement

is a hallmark of all exceptional companies. By applying the lessons you’ll

learn in this book, you’ll join the ranks of those who are committed to

growth and to higher levels of awareness and success.

And while you will learn many tactics for improving aspects of your

business, there is also a vital personal growth aspect of customer service.

Your efforts toward advancing your mood management and relationship

skills will have a direct and significant impact on your professional

growth. Throughout the book, you will find ways to grow your emotional

competencies, gain new perspectives on the value of happiness, achieve

life balance, and remain calm and compassionate during customers’ tantrums

and tirades. You’ll see how you can translate mistakes into accelerated

learning opportunities so that you actually improve the customer

relationship as a result. What you don’t know about emotion management

and relationships, you can easily learn. (We’ve even put some personal

growth resources at the end of the book so that you can keep

learning after you’ve finished reading it.)

You’ll be able to change both your mindset and your procedures by the

time you’ve finished this book. And your Gladys will thank you for it.

Why Marilyn and Lori? Marilyn is the founder of Suttle Enterprises

LLC and has taught thousands of people across the country how to have

happier, more productive relationships with their customers, their colleagues,

and even their children. Marilyn’s parents were small business

owners, as is her older brother. As a result, her appreciation for the customer

connection was ingrained in her psyche at an early age. Her training

business and speaking engagements allow her to live her dream of

helping people to become more aware of their feelings so that they can

generate life-balancing, success-inducing connections. She’s created the

‘‘Suttle Method’’ of communicating with compassion, teaching people

how to use emotion management skills and inspiring audiences to savor

their successes and connect in genuine, heartfelt ways.

Lori’s background in sales and customer service management inspired

her to teach others how to deliver compassionate service. As the manager

of a successful teleproduction studio in metropolitan Detroit, her involvement

in the day-to-day activities of a small business have allowed her to

test the processes and recommendations you’ll find in Who’s Your Gladys?

How to Turn Even Your Most Difficult Customer Into Your Biggest Fan. From

the daily staff ‘‘morning huddle’’ meeting to the use of customer surveys

and creative problem solving, she’s using this information right now,

growing the facility’s revenue by 20 percent in 2008.

This book was born out of a desire to make a difference. Each of us had

an interest in customer service, particularly the aspects of mood management

and human compassion as well as the benefits of creating a personal

connection with customers. More times than we could count, we would

hear each other say, ‘‘I’d love to write a book to teach people the lessons

I’ve learned.’’ Then one day we looked at each other and said, ‘‘Let’s do

it!’’ We began meeting weekly, and the project took on a life of its own.

The people whose stories appear on these pages divinely showed up

once we started looking for them. Some of the companies were on our

radar from our day-to-day lives. After all, people talk about their horrible

customer service experiences all the time. Wouldn’t it be fun to tell the

stories of fantastic experiences? We’re both realistic optimists, so spreading

great stories is one of our favorite pastimes. And if it can help someone

else? That’s even better!

Everyone that we approached to include in the book said yes to

involvement in the project. They all gave us easy and quick access to

their high-level executives and some of their front-line staff, who answered

every question with a generous spirit and helpful information.

While we had personally experienced how exceptional customer service

requires compassion, a human connection, and strong relationships, it

was inspiring to have that knowledge affirmed.

Researching and writing this book has been such a pleasure. As you

read the pages ahead, please know how much we value you, our readers.

We appreciate you for taking the time to meet Gladys and to explore our

stories and lessons. We commend you for your desire to deliver exceptional

customer service and grow your abilities.We wish you happy learning,

stellar growth, and deep appreciation for your own customers.