“When times are tough and customer dollars are scarce, it’s the companies with exceptional customer service that weather the storm,” explains experienced work-life success coach Marilyn Suttle. “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.”

In WHO’S YOUR GLADYS?: How to Turn Even the Most Difficult Customer into Your Biggest Fan (AMACOM; September 3, 2009; $22.95 Hardcover), Marilyn Suttle and Lori Jo Vest show readers how to create excellent customer service, from preventing difficult situations to handling the inevitable—with the right amount of delicacy and care to turn the worst into the best.

Gladys was a very real customer for Professional Movers in Detroit. The spunky—some would say cranky—87-year-old woman whose marble tabletop was broken on moving day became the toughest customer the company faced. Unable to repair it, her salesman took the extra time and money to make things right. He personally escorted her to pick out a new tabletop and have it delivered to her new home. Now Gladys is their biggest supporter and tells everyone to hire Professional Movers. Rather than a disgruntled customer, they have a strong source of ongoing referrals.

Customers aren’t problems or time sinks, but people providing your business with an opportunity for improvement. Suttle and Vest argue that the value of the customer should be engrained in a business from the top down. A company culture that values strong relationships with its customers, from hiring empathetic staff to encouraging employees to take ownership of their roles and responsibilities, creates an overall attitude that attracts customers. However, customer service is also important on an individual level where creative problem-solving and emotional management skills form strong bonds with customers.

“While many tactics for improvement address one aspect or another of your business, what we’ve discovered is that changing how you and your staff think about your customers can make the most difference,” clarifies Lori Jo Vest, a manager with over 20 years of experience in sales and customer service management. “Strong mood management and relationship skills have a direct and significant impact on professional, and therefore business, growth.”

WHO’S YOUR GLADYS? contains many real-life case studies from a variety of industries. Suttle and Vest reveal how large and small companies seek and attain customer service excellence:

• Empathy is essential with customers who commit a great deal of time and money for training at the Canfield Companies. Director of Training, Jesse Ianiello, is able to answer all their needs and concerns, and credits her success with the understanding that everyone is different.
• Passion fuels enthusiasm of employees and customers at Paul Reed Smith Guitars, whose personal and professional interactions showcase the quality of the guitars, and the people.
• Presentation becomes brand at Singapore Airlines, whose frequent fliers choose them for the quality and service, from the personal attention of flight attendants to the carefully coordinated tea service.
• Every employee is an entrepreneur at ISCO Industries, where employees are made aware of their individual impact on the company—building a culture of personal commitment to the company and the customers.
• Educating customers is crucial to the work of managing customer expectations at The Green Company, which has won numerous home-building industry awards.
• Turning unhappy customers into secret shoppers has helped Preston Wynne Spa turn a critical eye on its service and turn negative customer experiences into positive ones.
• Handling mistakes with care and follow through has saved many client relationships at Communicore Visual Communications, where responsible actions uphold trust and respect.

The customer experience defines an organization. When customers feel lost, confused, or outraged, service should be there for them. So next time Gladys walks into a room, every professional with WHO’S YOUR GLADYS? has the tools to turn her into an opportunity for development, a valued customer, and a big fan. As Dr. Tony Alessandra, author of The NEW Art of Managing People and The Platinum Rule, declares, “Marilyn Suttle and Lori Jo Vest have created an easy-to-follow road map for success by documenting how you can manage the difficult people and stressful situations in your business so that they can help you make more money, gain repeat customers, and stay relevant in any economy.”

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Marilyn Suttle is the founder of Suttle Enterprises LLC, through which she has taught thousands of people across the country how to have happier, more productive relationships with customers. She lives in Novi, Michigan. Lori Jo Vest has been involved in relationship-based sales and customer service for over 20 years, most recently with television production studio Communicore Visual Communications. She lives in Troy, Michigan. Learn more at www.WhosYourGladys.com .

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TITLE: WHO’S YOUR GLADYS?
How to Turn Even the Most Difficult Customer into Your Biggest Fan

By Marilyn Suttle and Lori Jo Vest

ISBN: 978-0-8144-1439-2
PUB DATE: September 3, 2009
PRICE: $22.95 PAGES: 240