The Real Heroes of Business : ...and Not a Ceo Among Them [Paperback]

Len Schlesinger (Author), Bill Fromm (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1994

Service is THE business  buzzword of the '90s, and this savvy guide presents the  service secrets of the best of the best in every  line of work, from what motivates them to how they  provide the ultimate in customer service. These  are the real heroes of business -- the front line  workers who raise service to the level of performing  art.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fromm ( The Ten Commandments of Business and How to Break Them ) and Schlesinger, who teaches business administration at Harvard Business School, here profile 14 superlative service employees whose skills and personal appeal are their employers' greatest asset: among them are a food-chain waitress whose regular customers wait in line to be served by her and an auto mechanic who is even more interested in correcting that funny noise than the customer is. Such paragons might seem too good to be true, but the authors advise how to find and train employees to "think like a customer" and bring in repeat business to boost net profits. Concern and sensitivity are key factors here. Consider the Roto-Rooter man who calms down a party hostess stricken with toilet-overflow, clears the drain and cleans up afterward but wouldn't presume to use that toilet himself. Basically, this book is about hiring $25,000-a-year service workers who over time can generate $125,000 in annual incremental company profits. There's no mention of employee profit-sharing, though. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Fromm, the head of an advertising agency, and Schlesinger (business, Harvard Business Sch.) have produced a vital new work that focuses on front-line service workers who truly redefine the term hero . The authors canvassed 800 firms, asking them to identify one of their finest service workers, and then shadowed and interviewed a select group of finalists; the result are these 14 "real heroes of business." Included are an auto mechanic, a waitress, a flight attendant, a plumber, a department store sales rep, a casino security guard, a bank loan officer, and a produce manager. In addition to the reasons for the success of these exemplary service representatives, the authors also incorporate significant principles on service that are relevant to all businesses. The days of the "masked man" are over; the real success of any business is daily accomplished by highly dedicated employees like these, who are found in all organizations. Essential for all libraries.
- Dale Farris, Groves, Tex.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday Business; 1 edition (March 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385425554
• ISBN-13: 978-0385425551
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,320,575 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good book to read if you are a service manager or provider, March 1, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Real Heroes of Business : ...and Not a Ceo Among Them (Paperback)

The real heroes of business and not a CEO among them is meant for readers who want to know "how to find, train, manage and retain world-class service workers." It is also for readers who want become world-class service workers. This book is about "the people who answer the phones and wait table, who open doors and give directions , who load planes and serve drinks, who fix cars and stack apples, who sell recliners and cash register tapes, who clean drains and fix telephones, who make bank loans and manage frontline workers." The stories of each of these individuals is of value to those of us providing service to our customers. The authors "set out to find some of the best frontline service workers in America, and write a book explaining what made them special, what motivated and satisfied them. We also wanted their insight about how bosses could create a working environment in which high standards would be the norm, in which customers would be treated like a blessing instead of an inconvenience, in which creativity, innovation, and, not incidentally, profits would flourish." Bill Fromm is the author of The Ten Commandments of Business and How to Break Them. He is also the founder and president of Barkley & Evergreen, a national marketing and advertising agency based in Kansas City. Leonard Schlesinger is a professor at Harvard Business School. He served as vice president and chief operating officer of Au Bon Pain, a chain of French bakery cafés. I suggest that this will be of interest to service providers, internal support to service providers, and those hiring service providers. The definition of service provider here includes sales, tele sales, sales service, technical service, customer service, and others that come in contact with customer. The authors searched Fortune magazines top 500 service providers plus over 300 additional companies from the national's finest service providers. This provided a list of several hundred nominations that were first reduced to about forty candidates, then reduced further before being contacted by a "mystery shopper." The result was the fourteen individuals discussed in the book. Each of the fourteen chapters tells us about an individual and explains why they were selected. During the chapter the authors include inserts explaining the relevance of the preceding information about the individual. The final paragraphs of each chapter provide tools for defining the value of the individual (what does their service excellence mean in dollars to the organization) and how to find more of them (what do you ask or look for?). After the fourteen chapters that discuss the individual service providers there is a conclusion about "the care and feeding of the real heroes of business." This is followed by an appendix with twenty questions to help you find world-class service workers and another to help determine their worth to the organization

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Customer Service, June 25, 2010

By 

Sandi Wallace - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Real Heroes of Business : ...and Not a Ceo Among Them (Paperback)

Interesting the lenghs some service folks go to please their customers. Service as it should be. An easy read so good I couldn't stop reading until finished.