Customer Mania! It's Never Too Late to Build a Customer-Focused Company (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Jim Ballard (Contributor), Fred Finch (Contributor) "I HAVE THE GREATEST job in the world..." (more)
Key Phrases: dumb door, people doing things right, raving fans, Customer Mania, David Novak, Pizza Hut (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Self-described "Chief Spiritual Officer" Blanchard strikes a familiar note of ebullient optimism in this follow up to his bestsellers The One-Minute Manager, Whale Done and Raving Fans! This time the business populist chronicles the efforts of Yum! brands to build a customer-focused corporate culture. As the corporate parent of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, A&W and Long John Silver, Yum! operates in an industry where a 200% annual turnover rate is normal. So the company’s own 40% annual turnover rate is exceptional, and its creation of a positive employee culture is no mean feat. Thus, Yum!’s survival in the fast food business—which relies heavily on the public’s contact with its front line employees—provides useful lessons for any manager whose business depends upon customer satisfaction. Unfortunately, however, Blanchard’s book fails to step back and address its subject objectively. Instead, the narrative reads like a spiritual revival meeting, making it difficult to separate the practical advances from the author’s hype. Has all the feel-good hoopla created higher profits? Deflected competition? Raised share prices? Failures, negativity and cynicism don’t find their way into this book. They are swiftly eliminated, just like people with the wrong attitude at Yum!
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Review

"Customer Mania is the finest distillation of Ken Blanchard's wisdom, convictions, and possibility thinking to date. What inspired me most was the journey from possibilities to reality and that he validated the fundamental truths - that it can happen and it is never too late to start!" Tami Heim, former president of Borders, Inc. "Anyone in a customer-focused business really MUST read this book! It is somehow simple, powerful, actionable, compelling and immensely readable all at once. I'll never provide - or receive - service the same way again. In fact, I'll carry a copy with me and give it to people whenever I experience underwhelming service." Patrick Lencioni, bestselling author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team "In the long history of management writing, no one has so clearly and memorably extracted, exposed, illustrated and explained the essentials of enlightened and profitable management as Ken Blanchard. Now he, with Jim Ballard and Fred Finch, offers us the ultimate customer service book, 'Customer Mania!' The title is a dead give away of the passionate and persuasive argument contained in these pages. Bravo!" Tom Peters "This book gets to the bottom line fast: If you don't take care of your customers, somebody else will. Do what I did, and order a copy of this book for every one of your employees and have them memorize the 4 critical steps to creating Customer Mania! This book shows you how to make your customers so happy that you'll be laughing all the way to the bank." Robert Allen, author of Nothing Down for the 2000s --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (November 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743270282
• ISBN-13: 978-0743270281
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #50,487 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This should be called "The CEO's Bible", August 23, 2005

By	Teresa "Teresa White" (Louisville, Ky United States) - See all my reviews

I had worked for YUM! for 4 days when I went to my first Founder's Day celebration -the day that Ken Blanchard and David Novak (YUM! CEO) gave out these books. I didn't know what to think! The environment was SO different from what I was used to. Why were these people standing on chairs, hooting and yelling, cheering and clapping and having FUN at a biyearly meeting? How did they get so many people to volunteer to speak in front of a 3000+ crowd, when most meetings of under 20 you hardly ever get anyone to speak up?

I took the book home and read it cover to cover, trying to figure out what Customer Mania was and how do I become a Customer Maniac? I have worked in customer service for years, and the answer was simple: Do it right, and do it right the first time, because you WANT to. Things I had wanted to do under other bosses to help my customers get what they need and want, but was afraid to, because the Boss wouldn't understand or it would cost too much, or take too much time, or wasn't our department. At YUM! there is no such thing as "not my department". If that is a customer who needs your help, then that customer IS your department.

The book gives great anecdotes to illustrate his point in an easy to read, easy to understand manner. You feel as though Mr. Blanchard were sitting across from you talking to you in person. YUM! has a ways to go in really winning over its customer base, in assuring the customer that YUM! will be there no matter what to make sure they have a great experience in one of their restarants, but we are getting there.

And the marching band walking through the building to recognize outstanding employees? It's true.

Every CEO of every company should read this. The things that YUM! does to recognize its employees for a job well done on a daily basis doesn't add up to much in terms of time or money, but the return on that investment is phenomenal. Even as an entry level employee, I know that David Novak cares about the work I do and every day I give 210%, KNOWING that my leadership sees it and appreciates it.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another good book from Blanchard, October 29, 2006

By	Integrity Trainer "news-info-from-sbc2" (Northbrook, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This is an easy to read book with leadership principles for people in all levels of leadership.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A page-turning read steeped in the senses of yesteryear., November 5, 2006

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Former college instructor and journalist R. D.. Snowcroft presents The Blanchard Brothers Film Company, a novel set at the beginning of the twentieth century - when motion pictures were just beginning to spread as a form of popular entertainment in the nickelodeons frequented by the lower classes, while the upper classes watched theater and the middle classes attended vaudeville. In these times fraught with potential, the hub of motion pictures in America was on the East Cost, not the West; The Blanchard Brothers Film Company is a tale of two brothers whose vibrant studio flourished and faded. One brother was destined for fame and greatness in Hollywood; the other would fall into obscurity. The dynamics of the dog-eat-dog world of popular cinema, even in its infancy, make for a page-turning read steeped in the senses of yesteryear.