Customer Reviews

Who's Your Gladys?: How to Turn Even the Most Difficult Customer into Your Biggest Fan

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"Who's Your Gladys?" contains a wealth of information that applies to not just customer relationships, but to human relationships as a whole! Every business should to have a copy for new employees. Perhaps even give them a week to read it at work as part of their training. Then ask them how they will incorporate these lessons into their behavior. Great Book!

Great book! Everyone who wants to love and keep their customers forever should read this book.

Get this book yesterday. Fab, fab advice on how to not only deal with tough customers but to turn them into your best customers that bring you tons of business. The advice is spot on and is perfect for any business or skill level. You will finish the book with a wealth of ideas and tips you can put to use right away. Employees will adore this book. I highly highly recommend it.

Who's your Gladys by Suttle and Vest is about motivating employees to give good service from the viewpoint of ten different industries. The title had the potential to pull me in to an interesting subject; and it did, but not the way I expected. I thought it would be like management books based on Dilbert or Charlie Brown comics, but it didn't have a single cartoon in it. In fact, it had no pictures! Gladys is a curmudgeon - the embodiment of everyone's challenging customer or coworker or boss; one who is picky, cantankerous, difficult, seemingly impossible to please, and requires a high level of skill to manage. Everyone has one or two.
There are 11 chapters. Each chapter concludes with practical points and progress checklist. Each chapters also includes two lessons learned pages with questions for the reader to answer. Then the authors give you their answers on the following pages. They conclude with current viewpoints on customer service.
The workbook-style question and self-answer pages were not my preferred method of learning, but would work well as discussion points for groups that are training together. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn how other people successfully achieve excellent customer service ... because we all have difficult customers.

Wow, this book is a fun read! The case histories are riveting, and the variety of businesses discussed impressive--from an airline to a guitar company to a medical center to a spa, and so on. There's no falseness or cynicism here, just a wise and practical focus on integrity, empathy and flexibility. The authors did their research and they also clearly practice what they preach. This should be required reading for anyone in customer service, but it's also lively enough to be enjoyed by everyone from teenagers to retirees. The book's real-life lessons can be used to upgrade any relationship. So if you want to improve your family life, or your office relations, or your networking experience, or your life at school... read this book!

WHO'S YOUR GLADYS: HOW TO TURN EVEN THE MOST DIFFICULT CUSTOMER INTO YOUR BIGGEST FAN shows business readers how to create excellent customer service, using a cranky 87-year-old woman as an example of how adversity can change to support. The basics on how to create a company culture that values strong relationships with its customers makes this a powerful pick for any serious business library.

Customer service is an often-overlooked aspect of doing business. But at a time when companies need all the clients they can get, it's time to bring it front and center. The practical, straightforward tips offered by Suttle and Vest are dead on, and they work. Anyone can implement them, and anyone can understand why they are valuable. The information is presented in an educational, easy-to-read format that is never preachy. It's also a fun read that lets you learn a bit about the inner workings of the organizations profiled. This book would be a welcome addition to anyone's business library.

I just finished reading this book cover to cover, and frankly you should too!

As a fellow customer service author, I see many books that focus on fluff about being a nice person but fall short on actionable advice. Who's Your Gladys is exactly the opposite: it gives detailed case studies on how 10 of the best companies deal with their most challenging customers - the "Gladys's" that every business has.

From how Singapore Airlines turns an 18-hour flight into a thoughtfully composed performance, to how co-author Vest leveraged a reputation for service recovery to help her video production firm become a tier-one supplier for the auto industry, this book breaks down the mechanics of great service with your worst customers into a real game plan, and closes with a summary of principles you can share with your entire team.

This is one of those books you should read with a pen and paper in hand, and put to work in your own business. Their simple but powerful idea that handling your worst customers will supercharge your success is accurate and compelling. -Rich Gallagher, author What to Say to a Porcupine and How to Tell Anyone Anything.

Fantastic read for those who provide great customer service and for those of us who need to get through the customer service juggernaut1 Very well written as well as presented with a great deal of thought and care.

The thing that I love about this book is the examination of different highly successful companies and their customer service practices. I get to learn from the successes and mistakes of other real people.

To me there's a lot more value in this format than a book that is written from a philosophical or academic perspective. Real world experience is the best teacher.

I would encourage anyone in business to read this book.