Hug Your Customers: The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results [Hardcover]

Jack Mitchell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 11, 2003

A master of customer service reveals his secrets for developing long-lasting business relationships and customer loyalty. "We shower our customers with attention. There's no doubt in my mind that our philosophy can be applied to selling just about anything -- from aircraft engines to beanbags." (Jack Mitchell) The only way to stay in business is with customers, and Jack Mitchell knows how to attract them, and how to keep them.

He has a deceptively simple but winning relationship approach to customer service -- that a relationship is at the heart of every transaction. Jack's business philosophy is based on "hugs" -- personal touches that impress and satisfy the customer, such as: -- Remembering the name of your customer's dog
-- Calling a customer to make sure he's satisfied after a purchase
-- Having a "kids' corner" with TV, books, and treats
-- Knowing your customers golf handicap
-- Introducing customers to business contacts
-- Letting your customer use your office to make a personal phone call This is a proven theory -- hugging works! Mitchells/Richards achieves among the highest margins in its industry, as well as amazing customer loyalty. Complete with anecdotes that exemplify outstanding customer service, Hug Your Customers shows how any business can adapt this hugging philosophy to attract great staff, lower marketing costs, and maintain higher gross margins and long-term revenues. At a time when customer service has become the difference between success and failure, Hug Your Customers shows how Jack's one-of-a-kind philosophy brings the results you're looking for.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If you work at a Fortune 500 company and live in southern Connecticut or New York's Westchester County (two of Manhattan's most affluent suburbs), chances are you buy your suits at Mitchells (in Westport, Conn.) or Richards (in Greenwich, Conn.). These two independent clothing stores are some of the most successful in the business and outfit CEOs from Chase, GE, IBM, Merrill Lynch and Pepsi. Mitchell, whose father started the business, shares the secret of his success in this unoriginal but cheerful guide to keeping customers happy. Hugging your customers, he says, has nothing to do with being touchy-feely around them and everything to do with offering them over-the-top service. For Mitchell, that means literally offering a customer the coat off your back, if that's the only one left in the store in the customer's size and preferred style and color. It means going to customers' homes to tie their bow ties for big events. It means serving coffee and bagels in the store and giving away hot dogs in the parking lot on summer Saturdays. Some might view this as fawning, but for Mitchell, it's the best way to keep customers coming back. His advice-know your customer, think outside the box, have a "no problem" attitude-is hardly groundbreaking. But those who work with customers daily have much to gain from this chipper, inspiring handbook.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Hug Your Customers can change your attitude and outlook while helping you become more successful. A must read!" -- Larry Bossidy, CEO, Honeywell International Inc.

"Hug Your Customers gives the business world proven techniques to ensure success for many generations." -- Harry Paul, Co-author, FISH! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results

"Follow the tenets of Hug Your Customers and your business will be more stable, you'll make more money . . ." -- Jeffrey J. Fox, author of How to Become a Rainmaker

"Great book-required reading for anyone who manages a business where customer service counts." -- Seymour Sternberg, CEO, New York Life Insurance

"Jack Mitchell has created an organization that epitomizes the best in customer service." -- Richard J. Harrington, President and CEO, The Thomson Corporation

"Lots of merchants profess a devotion to customers, but Mitchells practices that devotion in every conceivable way . . . A must read!" -- Larry Bossidy, former CEO of Honeywell

"Simple but winning approach to customer service." -- Esquire

"The Mitchell method is simple, straightforward and incredibly effective. Business people as well as consumers will benefit . . ." -- Arthur Levitt, Jr. author of Take on the Street, former chairman SEC, present friend and customer of Mitchells

"This book is a suprising little gem." -- William J. Holstein, The New York Times

"This is a terrific read -- a mixture of wonderful, insightful anecdotes, along with brilliantly simple and useful advice." -- Don Peppers, co-author (with Martha Rogers) of The One to One Future: Building Relationships One Customer at a Time

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1st edition (June 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401300340
• ISBN-13: 978-1401300340
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #36 in Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Customer Service
  • #48 in Books > Business & Investing > Marketing & Sales > Advertising
  • #69 in Books > Business & Investing > Marketing & Sales > Sales & Selling

More About the Author

Jack Mitchell is the CEO of Mitchells/Richards, two of the most successful clothing stores in the business. He and his wife, Linda, live in Wilton, Connecticut, where they raise their four sons.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Put tears in my eyes, September 10, 2003

By 

Experienced seminar leader (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hug Your Customers: The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results (Hardcover)

In a world where "that's not my problem" and "we have our policies" too often reign, from large companies and small ones both, this book is sheer delight. I read this book while smarting from being treated as if having no water in our house for several days were not an emergency. The well company came on a Friday, appeared to have fixed the well and left. Twenty minutes later, the problem came back. Had they subscribed to the Jack Mitchell philosophy, the service guys would have come back later that day, or on Saturday so that we wouldn't have been left without water for the weekend. But nope, their weekends are more important than customers. When he finally called me back, I even asked the owner if he could give me a beeper or cellphone number so that I could let him know if the next service call also didn't solve the problem. He refused. Now compare this with the Jack Mitchell philosophy, which is that an emergency is whatever the customer defines as an emergency, and that the customer counts. And the customer counts not because this creates a fatter bottom line (which it does), but because people matter. That's the part that put tears in my eyes. His sincerity on this point came through loud and clear. The book rates a "5" both on emotional and logical grounds. I read tons of business books every year, and this one truly stands out.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book, July 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Hug Your Customers: The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results (Hardcover)

Once again, there's not a lot that's terribly new here but the basic concept of customer service cannot be overstressed: treat people as you would like to be treated yourself. I own a high-end retail establishment on Madison Avenue in New York City. I had become so fed up hearing my employees complain about the mega-stores and mega-brands taking away our business that I had them read this book and we discussed it at a staff meeting. It made a huge difference, and the customers have definitely noticed. If you like this one, then I would also recommend the new book about a small coffee business called "Beans." The same tenets apply.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars is not enough!, January 8, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Hug Your Customers: The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results (Hardcover)

I have read over 50 books on Customer Service. This is by far the best of all of them. It goes into great detail on what things you need to do, not just the fact that you need to do them. I have sent them two emails, and they responded in less than a day-That's better than 90% of the companies out there...If you are going to read a book this year, this should be the one. It is insperational, and motivational for anyone dealing with the public, even Governmental agencies could learn a thing or two, or three or...