For my summer reading, I read the book Delivering Knock Your Socks Off Service which to me is a version of Customer Service for Dummies.  It outlines everything that should be common sense when you are the face of your workplace.  It really gives a whole new importance to what you are charged with doing, and gives good examples of what to, and more importantly, not to do.  The book really wants to make sure that you impress, but also to not unimpress because you never get a chance to make another first impression.

The importance of patience is obvious in this book because you have to have it when dealing with all different problems, and make sure you keep yourself under control no matter what the situation.  It also made apparent the effect of negative phrases that can destroy the confidence of a customer or client, the most obvious being simply “I don’t know.”  How much confidence does that inspire when you are on the receiving end of that?  The answer is none.  The author make sure that the points of keeping the client or customer involved is paramount, as well as being positive and accommodating to their individual needs.  A lot of these lessons can carry over into people’s lives outside of the workplace and into your everyday interactions with people.

One thing that really caught my attention was the mention of Nordstrom customer service, which I have had the pleasure of receiving on a couple of occasions, and this book puts it in great context.

Another thing I wish the book would have included as a lesson in detail is a company in the UK called McLaren International.  The facilities are a lesson in functionality and management.  The factory floor is white tile floors that you can eat off of.  For them, perfection isn’t good enough in the production or service department.  Ron Dennis is the chief executive of McLaren, and the attention to detail is unbelievable.  They also show how an air of confidence can go a long way.  They also make sure their employees also show humility while still producing some of the best cars in the world, which is really hard to emphasize the impact that can have on customers and sponsors for them.  The company strives to be the best in the world, which is to me a reflection of what everyone should strive for, which is perfection without an ego to go along with it.  This is a lesson given to me by one of my friends, Keith Pulford, who used to work for Bonhams, one of the premier auction houses in the world.  This is one lesson I wish was more explicit in the book, but overall it was a great intro so sales and customer service.