contents
A Light Touch at Just the Right Time
Saying Your Business Is “On the internet” Is Like Saying It’s “On the Power Grid”
All You Need to Know in a Rhyming Nutshell
Where Tech Makes Loyalty Easier
PART ONE
Timeliness and Timelessness
CHAPTER 1
Today’s Changed Customer: Making Lovemaking Difficult
The Most Crucial Customer “Trends” Today Are Individual Changes
Customer Trend #2: Shame Shift and Values-Based Buying
Customer Trend #3: Timelessness over Trendiness
Customer Trend #4: Customer Empowerment
Customer Trend #5: The Greening of the Customer
Customer Trend #6: The Desire for Self-Service
CHAPTER 2
The Customer Remains the Same: Everything That Isn’t New Under the Sun
Providing Value: As Easy as 1, 2 … 4
Delivered in a Caring, Friendly Manner
… Backed Up by an Effective Problem-Resolution Process
CHAPTER 3
Timeless Customer Service Done Right—and Wrong: Mastery Versus Catastrophe
A Cameo of Catastrophe: Timeless Service Done Tragically Wrong
PART TWO
High-Tech, High-Touch Anticipatory Customer Service
CHAPTER 4
A Google of Apples a Day: The Art of Anticipation in the Modern World of Customer Service
“Attaching” Yourself to Customers: Gmail and More
CHAPTER 5
Anticipatory Customer Service: Your Culture
The Curse of the Short-Term Focus
Consciously Building a Company Culture: Why Bother?
You Can’t Out-Pixar Pixar—But Here’s What You Can Do
Cultural Friends with Benefits
Cultural Fit, Oddballs, and When Not to Hire
Positive Peer Pressure: The Double Significance of Every Hiring Decision
Spelling Out How You Treat Customers, Vendors, and Employees
How to Get Started Building Your Core
Your Core Values Are Just the Start—But They Are a Start
Culture Meets the Larger World
How This Plays Out in a Pinch: Southwest’s Culture Saves a Service Dog
CHAPTER 6
Anticipatory Customer Service: Your People
CHAPTER 7
Sangria, Sippy Cups, and Jesse Ventura: Autonomy Versus Standards
The Case for Autonomy in Customer Service Work
Standards and Autonomy: The Hybrid Path
Conveying Standards—And Maintaining Autonomy
PART THREE
The Rise of Self-Service and Social Media—And Other Seismic Shifts
CHAPTER 8
The Rise of Self-Service: A Boon to Your Customers—But Only If You Do It Right
Awarding Myself the Mobile Prize
Principles of Successful Self-Service
CHAPTER 9
Technological Change and Disabled Customers: A True Opportunity, If You Avoid the Missteps
There’s More to Ramping Up than Putting Ramps Up: A Variety of Issues and Solutions
CHAPTER 10
Shoulder Your Customer’s Burden (and Make Sure You’re Not Adding to It!)
Where Are the Opportunities to Get to Them First?
The Specific Medium Is the Message—And Its Only Chance of Getting Through
CHAPTER 11
Anti-Social Media: Fears and Hazards of the New Landscape
Bicycle Pumps and Veterinarians
Regime Change in 140 Characters
Ouch: The First Time They Talk About You
Nobody Uses Twitter to Tell a Friend His Fly’s Undone
A Story That Almost Became a Viral Tweet
CHAPTER 12
Social Service: Principles for Social Media Customer Service
Principle #1: Avoid the Fiasco Formula: A Digital Stitch in Time Saves Nine (Million)
Principle #3: Turn Twankers into Thankers: Reach Out Directly to Online Complainers
Principle #5: Get Happy Outcomes into the Public Eye
Principle #6: Use Social Media and Personal Email to Make Your Customers Feel Important
CHAPTER 13
Listening: Your Ears Are Your Most Important Technology
Only One Perspective That Matters
Sanctuary Much: The S.M.A.R.T. Approach to the Human Force Field
Using Electronic Systems to Enhance Your Listening
It’s All About Listening—And It Starts by Opening Yourself to Hearing
The Maytag Repairman Lets You Slap Him in the Facebook