Customer Reviews

Essentials of Fire Department Customer Service

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Alan Brunacini has put into words what the standard for any fire service organization should be. This book is entertaining, enlighting, and on the mark.

I have been a firefighter for over twenty years and seen firefighters that are truly great, and firefighters that seem to get the job done but have no special spark. I have always tried to figure out "What is the difference between the two?" Chief Brunacini, details the difference. The really great firefighters obviously take that extra effort to do the job right. Alan Brunacini describes how it can be done and has been done. The only problem with the "WOW" service he is talking about is it will take a lot of understanding by management to get to this level. This new standard for the fire service is not for the future, it is NOW.

This book describes a standard of service that every firefighter can understand, can attain, and feel great about. Bravo Bruno.

Phoenix Fire Chief Brunacini is one of the best-known leaders in the fire service. He has written extensively for magazines and traveled extensively as a speaker at seminars and conferences. His perspective is from more than 40 years in the fire service.

His earlier book, Fire Command, is a popular choice for promotional exams for all levels of fire officer candidates. Fire Department Customer Service switches focus to the customer, personalized as the generic "Mrs. Smith."

Brunacini observes that "in the past we have never very effectively included her in our thoughts, planning, and operations in the special way that makes her our customer. She represents the regular, real live people who call us for help when something burns, or something hurts, or something breaks." Brunacini believes that a lot of her immediate and long-term future depends not only on how fire departments respond to her call for help, but also on how she is treated during this very emotional time for her.

An important reason for this book, he says, is that "I believe she (the customer) should begin to play the central role in both our personal and professional (occupational) mentality and in our organizational service delivery game plan."

He adds that most firefighters have a strong action orientation and a natural inclination to focus more on the hard technical-tactical part of the job, "rather than on the `soft' human stuff.

Keeping a sense of humor throughout, Brunacini says that this manual is the result of "a series of thoughts, ideas, hallucinations, and reflections relating to fire department customer service."

The book's chapters elaborate on the following eight themes:

1. Our essential mission and number-one priority is to deliver the best possible service to our customers. 2. Always be nice and treat everyone with respect, kindness, patience, and consideration. 3. Always attempt to execute a standard problem-solving outcome that is quick, effective, skillful, safe, caring, managed. 4. Regard everyone as a customer. 5. Consider how you and what you are doing looks to others. 6. Don't disqualify the customer with your qualifications. 7. Basic organizational behavior must become customer-centered. 8. We must continually improve our customer service performance.

Examples of various incidents show members of the Smith family in distressing situations. Any fire department would handle the emergency itself in short order, but the distress can be long lasting. Brunacini advocates attending to all of the details of the distress, including explaining what the firefighters are doing and why, taking care of the pets if necessary, driving a spouse to the hospital if necessary, or securing the contents of a car after the driver is transported to the hospital.

One incident features a traveler (Mr. Smith) passing through the airport for a connecting flight home but who instead slips, falls, and injures his leg. Fire department personnel secure the passenger's baggage from the airline (he may need it if he has to stay in the hospital overnight), transport him to the hospital, get the spouse's phone number and call her with a report, communicate with the hospital about a release time, check with the airline about replacement flights, transport the man back to the airport, and call his spouse to let her know of his arrival time.

Brunacini asks, What was the cost of the value the crew added to the service delivery? Not much, but the victim may remember the outstanding service longer than the pain of the injury. The fire department crew simply treated Mr. Smith "the way they would like to be treated if they landed in a strange place with a smushed ankle."

Here is the Golden Rule in action.

This book is entertaining and fun to read wih great stories and fun cartoons. The book provides a sound basis for implementing change at every level of the fire service. It helps departments put the "service" back in fire service. I especially enjoyed the way that the book relates to personnel on the street, those that have the customer contact. It shows how everone wins when we provide customer service: the department, the individual firefighters, and the citizens. While the focus is on the service provided by emergency crews, the message can be adapted for other individuals in the fire service, from fire inspectors to administration.This book should be required reading at the academy - maybe the first topic.

As a relative newcomer to the fire service (volunteer of two years) I was inspired by this book which covers a fire departments' duty to the public. Cheif Brunacini urges firemen and fire departments to go beyond the traditional duty of extenguishing fires to one that recognizes that often there is extra time during and after an incident to go the extra mile to get a "WOW!" recation from "customers" (taxpayers). He also points out the subtleties of increased morale and image of the department with such an approach. This book is very easy reading, laced with lots of good humor, anecdotes and illustrations.

Brunacini covers customer service in a to the point witty way. His book is written in plain english and includes past experiences. A good read for those interested in fire service customer service from cover to cover.

One of the most innovative voices in the fire service, Chief Brunacini outlines the development of a customer service program that any department can implement.

In addition to being a very valuable text for the fire service of the 90's (and beyond), Essentials of Fire Department Customer Service is a GREAT read; truly hilarious dry humor that frequently skewers traditional thinking in the fire service.

Essentials of Fire Department Customer Service will likely become required reading in rookie firefighter academies. Read it now and get a leg up on the competition!

This text was extremly overpriced. I recently saw the same book in our State Fire Academy bookstore and the IFSTA catalog for $21.00. I paid over $45.00 from Amazon.

It is not the fault of the the store but this item is overvalued. It is a spiral bound paper back not what I expected and not something I would normally pay $100.00 for. The supplier was prompt in delivery and teh packaging good.

An excellent look at an often neglected topic!