Managing Service Excellence: The Ultimate Guide to Building and Maintaining a Customer-Centric Organization

What is the one thing that all businesses depend on? Customers. What could be more important, then, to your organization's enduring success than a solid, well-planned and executed customer service strategy--a philosophy and culture that show customers that they are the reason you are in business in the first place? As this book reveals, we are all in the business of serving customers, whether they be external or internal to your organization. It therefore behooves each of us to understand and practice the principles of service excellence.

Managing Service Excellence is a comprehensive guidebook for creating and maintaining a customer-centric organization. Through chapters focusing on specific skill sets, real-world examples, and review questions, this book details how to create a satisfied customer and keep them for life. In clear, accessible language, Crutcher covers every aspect of service--from effective planning, communication, teaming, and coaching strategies, to managing change, strengthening critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and leveraging customer feedback to drive business improvement and innovation. With extensive experience in C-level and higher education roles, Crutcher helps us understand what customers really want and need, what drives their individual behavior, and how to best customize our service approach accordingly.

In a world where technology is constantly changing the business landscape, this book serves as a timeless resource on the fundamentals of customer service. There will never be a substitute for the competitive advantage that integrity, competence, and relationship-building provide. As Crutcher writes, "If you build it, they will come" may work in the movies, but in real life, success requires a consistent effort in the field of customer service. Managing Service Excellence provides the keys.

Bill Crutcher is president and CEO of the National Customer Service Association (NCSA). Crutcher has more than 25 years of extensive experience in C-varied leadership roles with both line and staff functions. He is an adjunct professor in management and organizational behavior and is equally effective with roles ranging from executive coach to transforming groups into highly successful teams. He has been highly active in the field of adult education since 1996. His expertise in both organizational planning and human dynamics allow him to guide businesses in achieving competitive advantage through the development of customer-centric work cultures. Crutcher has created many proprietary managerial models focusing on topics such as "AKE" (attitude, knowledge and empowerment) core requirements of effective customer service, identifying customer types, customer service self-assessment, change management, personal and professional planning and organizational performance. He holds several certifications, including Certified Managerial Mastery Facilitator and Certified Teams Course Facilitator. Crutcher is highly praised for his ability to bond teams and motivate diverse work groups. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and an MBA from Illinois State University.