Customer Reviews

The Experience! How to Wow Your Customers and Create a Passionate Workplace

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I HATE fable format books usually. But actually, this one has some serious points that are made, and show realistic ways in which the entire company can get involved in producing a better product, and create excellent customer relationships.

Among the things that a lot of companies should really consider are: showing company loyalty to your employees, and give them the authority to really solve the customers' problems. Having worked in customer service and retail for several years, I found that both of these are things that are usually missing from the typical environment a CSR encounters. Often, you'd love to help the customer out more, but you really don't have the authority to do anything, which is frustrating, both for you as a CSR, and for the customer even more.

I had to mark it down a star for the fable format, which really is annoying, as are the stereotypically dense and unrealistic workers. Plus the stupid napkin diagrams of the principles expressed are really insulting. But there's a lot of good information in the 120 or so pages that really needs to be looked at by a LOT of organizations, and the CSRs working for them.

As those fable books go, not too shabby!

After I read this book we invited Mr. Arussy to speak at our annual client conference. He was such an inspiration our clients purchased in excess of 200 copies of this outstanding book. We are a client service based company and have distributed this book to each of our help desk, sales and consulting associates. Many of them balked at reading a "story" but they all thanked us and gave rave reviews once completed. They were quite taken with how effective and pertinent to their positions that this story was. Mr. Arussy tells it like it is in today's client service industry. We have seen a new passion in our associates and it spills over to the client service we provide. This is a must read if you deal with people in any type of business!

The author has selected the fable format, which works very well for me. I spend my days dealing with issues brought by senior executives of large corporate customers, and after a long day of negotiating against hard facts, it's nice to come home to a book that will teach through simple story line, with no pontificating lists of commandments and no autobiographical flag-waving. I have not found a customer relationship book with a better connect rate: over 95% of the material applies directly to my day-to-day dealings with eight- and nine-figure customers. The one issue for Mr Arussy, I think, will be to get other corporate executives to acknowledge that they MUST take the time to get involved with their customers, especially when the money supply is tight. From years of personal experience, I can tell you unequivocally that nothing -- let me repeat -- NOTHING takes the place of direct involvement with customers by all parts of the organization. Mr. Arussy's organic approach to the problem is exactly what it needed in most organizations. The one bit of advice I would offer to the author is that he may want to either (1) produce a second book which shows how these changes can be made from the top down, or (2) offer executive consulting to get these ideas into the hands of decision-makers within the organization.

The Experience is a perfect encapsulation of what is going wrong with customer experience management. Why are so many big, supposedly savvy companies doing so much -- and so wrong? This fable spells it all out, entertainingly. All types of businesspeople will come away from this quick read with ideas that will save money, win new customers and enhance brand equity. Buy it.

After reading "The Experience" you have to ask yourself: why hasn't anyone approached this subject with such clarity before?

The book crystallizes the key problems surrounding customer interaction. It causes one to think, and think hard, about your own business and, as a result, you come away from this quick read with ideas that you can immediately implement to help build your brand and make money.

At first, the concept of the fable as a device seems simplistic. But the author unearths truisms that will resonate with a wide variety of businesspeople. You will come away with ways to build your brand and profits -- as well as motivate your people.

The title promises a lot more than the book delivers.
If you are looking for deep insights into providing better customer service in a contact centre environment don't go here! If on the otherhand you are looking for a quick, easy read, that is quite entertaining, this could be the one for you.
It really is a trivial story that attempts to address, in a rather frivolous manner, some of the most basic issues facing contact centre managers and staff. This is Contact Centre 101. What is pretty scary though, is that some people will find the story enlightening.
It is a nice reminder of what is important to be sure, but I'm not clear what one could do with the 'insights' provided.
I would not put this down as a serious 'business book' and it probably does not deserve a place within the 'business section'. Having read it, do I feel better informed? No, but it was light hearted, short with big print and easy to read. It did leave a smile on my face though!

As a customer that is fed up with these so called "customer service" centers, it is nice to hear something that just might work. I have left some companies because of the wait and run around I got. A company that would actualy listen to my problems and fix them without me having to get rude would have me as a customer for a long time.

By using the techniques I acquired from the book, I was able to gain much faster advancement in positions of management that allowed me to buy a new boat! Any investment of the price of a book with a return of a boat is a smart investment.
This book is a must buy!