Customer Mania!
Authors: Ken Blanchard, Jim Ballard and Fred Finch
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 194
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 0-00-720139-7
Reviewed by Alice Reed, HR administrator, Global Employee Services
Customer Mania! is an inspirational guide to building a customer-focused company. It does this both by presenting ideas and theories (and some run-away metaphors) and also by following the journey of the restaurant company Yum! The book describes how it turned its customer service tactics around.
The documentary approach will be refreshing to anyone used to reading text-book theories, and it puts the ideas in perspective.
Ken Blanchard’s conviction of the importance of customer service is contagious, and the style of this book is so accessible that it can’t help but make sense. Pitching his ideals against a working company also shows that these are practical ideas which can make a real difference.
It focuses on empowering staff to take responsibility for customer service, and how this can be achieved. These ideas can apply to any value that a company wishes to promote, and the adaptability is highlighted throughout.
Metaphors involving eagles, ducks and bulldogs did start to labour the point and I felt that some of the practical advice was lost in the process.
However, if you want an insight into how someone else has dealt with promoting dramatic change within their organisation, you can’t go wrong with this book.
Rating
Useful? 3 stars
Well-written? 5 stars
Practical? 3 stars
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Inspirational? 5 stars
Value for money? 4 stars
