High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service: Inspire Timeless Loyalty in the Demanding New World of Social Commerce (Hardcover, Special)

Contents Introduction 1 Forearmed Is Forewarmed 2 A Light Touch at Just the Right Time 3 Saying Your Business Is ''On the internet'' Is Like Saying It's ''On the Power Grid'' 4 All You Need to Know in a Rhyming Nutshell 5 Homeward Bound 6 Where Tech Makes Loyalty Easier 7 How This Book Is Organized 8 PART ONE Timeliness and Timelessness 9 CHAPTER 1 Today's Changed Customer: Making Lovemaking Difficult 11 The Most Crucial Customer ''Trends'' Today Are Individual Changes 12 Customer Trend: Customers Expect Anticipatory Technological Behavior and Aggregated Information-Instantly 12 Customer Trend Shame Shift and Values-Based Buying 14 Customer Trend & Timelessness over Trendiness 15 Customer Trend: Customer Empowerment 16 Customer Trend: The Greening of the Customer 17 Customer Trend & The Desire for Self-Service 18 ''And Your Point Is?'' 19 CHAPTER 2 The Customer Remains the Same: Everything That Isn't New Under the Sun 21 Providing Value: As Easy as 1, 2 ... 4 22 A Perfect Product or Service 22 Delivered in a Caring, Friendly Manner 23 In a Timely Fashion 25 ... Backed Up by an Effective Problem-Resolution Process 26 ''And Your Point Is?'' 30 CHAPTER 3 Timeless Customer Service Done Right-and Wrong: Mastery Versus Catastrophe 32 The Masterful Company 32 A Cameo of Catastrophe: Timeless Service Done Tragically Wrong 40 ''And Your Point Is?'' 45 PART TWO High-Tech, High-Touch Anticipatory Customer Service 47 CHAPTER 4 A Google of Apples a Day: The Art of Anticipation in the Modern World of Customer Service 49 The Apple Store Experience 50 From Cradle to Credit Card 53 A Tale of Two Installs 53 Bringing It All Back Home 57 ''Attaching'' Yourself to Customers: Gmail and More 58 ''And Your Point Is?'' 61 CHAPTER 5 Anticipatory Customer Service: Your Culture 63 The Curse of the Short-Term Focus 64 Consciously Building a Company Culture: Why Bother? 66 You Can't Out-Pixar Pixar-But Here's What You Can Do 69 Cultural Friends with Benefits 70 Cultural Fit, Oddballs, and When Not to Hire 71 Positive Peer Pressure: The Double Significance of Every Hiring Decision 72 Vendors: Partners, Not Poison 74 Spelling Out How You Treat Customers, Vendors, and Employees 75 How to Get Started Building Your Core 76 The Best Time to Start? Now. 77 Buy-in or Highwayin' 79 Your Core Values Are Just the Start-But They Are a Start 79 Culture Meets the Larger World 81 How This Plays Out in a Pinch: Southwest's Culture Saves a Service Dog 82 ''And Your Point Is?'' 83 CHAPTER 6 Anticipatory Customer Service: Your People 86 A Wet Dog at Petco 88 Supernatural Selection 89 Trial by Hire 90 ''Fit'' and Its Pitfalls 91 ''And Your Point Is?'' 93 CHAPTER 7 Sangria, Sippy Cups, and Jesse Ventura: Autonomy Versus Standards 95 Patting Down Jesse Ventura 96 The Case for Autonomy in Customer Service Work 98 The Need for Standards 101 Standards and Autonomy: The Hybrid Path 102 Pour Lion and PEPI 105 Conveying Standards-And Maintaining Autonomy 106 ''And Your Point Is?'' 107 PART THREE The Rise of Self-Service and Social Media-And Other Seismic Shifts 109 CHAPTER 8 The Rise of Self-Service: A Boon to Your Customers-But Only If You Do It Right 111 Awarding Myself the Mobile Prize 111 Principles of Successful Self-Service 115 ''And Your Point Is?'' 119 CHAPTER 9 Technological Change and Disabled Customers: A True Opportunity, If You Avoid the Missteps 121 There's More to Ramping Up than Putting Ramps Up: A Variety of Issues and Solutions 121 Wynn Some 125 ''And Your Point Is?'' 126 CHAPTER 10 Shoulder Your Customer's Burden (and Make Sure You're Not Adding to It!) 127 Stupid Stuff 127