Book Review: The Customer Rules

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The Customer Rules by Lee Cockerell is a great reminder of how to cultivate excellent customer service relationships.  Through Cockerell’s career in the hospitality industry, most notably his years with Disney, he has put together 39 essential rules for winning, keeping, and satisfying customers in a way that translates well no matter what industry you are a part of.  Quite honestly…they are just great rules for how to treat people regardless of what you do as a job!  This book is a very quick read and there are several things that I highlighted while reading.  I’ve pasted my notes below.  This book is a keeper in my leadership library!

  • Great service is not just about what we do: it’s also about what we are.
  • “There is no way that the quality of customer service can exceed the quality of the people who provide it” Liz Tahir, retail consultant
  • Satisfied customers are the best marketing staff you can possibly have.
  • The service ethos starts at the top.  From there, it works its way down to every level of an organization.
  • Clarity is the essence of communication; when you’re clear, there is no room for misunderstanding.
  • Passion for one’s work is a powerful motivator.
  • “Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.” Albert Einstein
  • It’s funny how much more effort we put into developing our speaking skills than we do into improving our listening abilities.
  • Customers who feel understood are likely to come back and those who don’t feel understood will go where the employees have better ears.
  • Give your employees or colleagues the challenge to share all the good service-related practices they come across as they go about their daily lives.  Offer a prize to the five best ideas that can be implemented in your business.
  • The idea is to find out what customers aren’t getting from your competitors and give it to them.  In a competitive, fast-changing world, the companies that can satisfy a unique customer need will emerge the winners.
  • The greater your authority, the more crucial it is to make yourself visible and available.
  • You’d be surprised how easy it is to learn something unique about a customer and use the knowledge to make that person feel special.
  • It’s not enough to give them what they need; you have to also give them what they really want.
  • “The only difference between merely satisfactory delivery and great delivery is attention to detail.”  Richard Branson, British entrepreneur
  • Your employees or colleagues may think you’re obsessive at first, but they’ll quickly learn to respect your attention to detail—and to emulate it.
  • Are you intentional in your goal to surprise and delight your customers?
  • There are countless ways to give a little extra service, and many of them will cost you little or nothing.
  • With a  bit of imagination, you too can delight customers by giving them a little extra when they least expect it.  They’ll surprise you in return by coming back early and often and by singing your praises to others.

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