Zingerman's Guide to Giving Great Service [Hardcover]

Ari Weinzweig (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2004

Entrepreneurial phenomenon Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of the much-loved Zingerman's Deli, shares the secrets to providing world-class customer service. Zingerman's in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a beloved deli with some of the most loyal clientele around. It has been praised for its products and service in media outlets far and wide, including the New York Times, Men's Journal, Inc. Magazine, Esquire, Atlantic Monthly, USA Today, and Fast Company. And what started out as a small deli has grown to a flourishing restaurant, catering service, bakery, mail-order operation, creamery, and training business.

Booming business and loyal customers are proof enough that the Zingerman's team knows a thing or two about customer service. Now in Zingerman's Guide to Giving Great Service, co-founder Ari Weinzweig shares the unique Zingerman method of treating customers, giving the reader step-by-step instructions on what to teach staff, how to train them, how to implement the training, how to measure their success, and finally, how to reward performance.

Some of Zingerman's time-tested principles:

--Customers who get a great product but poor service won't be as loyal as those who are disappointed with a product but get great service.
--You'll get more complaints if people believe you care enough to listen to them. And that's a good thing.
--Employees who are rewarded, respected, and well cared for treat customers the same way.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Zingerman's Guide reads like a high-powered seminar, with humorous illustrations and quick-reference information." -- Niche

About the Author

Ari Weinzweig, along with Paul Saginaw, founded Zingerman's Community of Businesses, which includes Zingerman's Delicatessen, Zingerman's Creamery, Zingerman's Bakehouse, and ZingTrain. The author of Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating, he lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (December 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401301436
• ISBN-13: 978-1401301439
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,631 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent information in an informal format, August 3, 2006

By 

M. Killian (Livonia, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zingerman's Guide to Giving Great Service (Hardcover)

If you're an uptight and resistant to change person, this is probably not going to be the best guide for you. Zingerman's is a liberal, "do the right thing" kind of environment. Their staff is respectful of each other and their customers without seeming militaryish or goofy. You can tell they love what they do and they are good at it.

I want the same environment for my staff. While we have terrific people in our Group, they just need serious help in the correct way to deliver customer service. This guide provides easy to understand concepts and examples.

The only thing I wish was different would be less food focus type advice. (Yes, I know Zingerman's is a food operation) If you're going to write a book on customer service, it would be helpful if it was easier to directly apply examples like "x-tra mile" ideas to general business.

If you're ever in Ann Arbor, be sure to visit Zingermans for the full experience -- it's so worth it!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good ideas, but short on examples, April 26, 2006

By 

jefkat (Harrisburg, PA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Zingerman's Guide to Giving Great Service (Hardcover)

After purchasing Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating, a wonderfully informative book about cheese, bread, olive oil, chocolate and many other artisan foods, I had high hopes for this book. On the positive side, it contains many excellent ideas on providing truly distinguished customer service, which are presented in a succinct, easy-to-read style. However, this book would have been more compelling if the author had illustrated these ideas with specific examples of how Zingerman's staff have provided superior service to customers or how they have handled difficult or unusual situations with customers. On the very last page of the book, Mr. Weinzweig writes: "Tell service stories. The knowledge of things that staffers do to provide guests with great service needs to be shared. People like to hear stories." Too bad that he didn't take his own advice when putting this book together.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Servant Leadership, December 10, 2004

By 

Tory L. Mcjunkin (Scottsdale, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zingerman's Guide to Giving Great Service (Hardcover)

Zingerman's guide is an outstanding primer on a businesses approach to service. Zingerman's philosophy is quite simple: Customer's should be treated like royalty and it is my responsibility to implement this standard. Ari Weinzweig takes you through the steps that he uses to teach outstanding service principles to his employees and in workshops for other companies. Although service is not always easy it is a noble goal in itself and should be diligently pursued by every team member of a business.