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

Every customer oriented business has its own Gladys; someone who demands more than most companies are able or willing to give, one who pushes front line service representatives' buttons, one who requires a higher degree of skill to manage. One who let's just say it can be difficult. Yet how is it that some businesses prove able not only to satisfy their 'Gladys', but turn her into one of their most loyal, utterly pleased customers? Filled with inspiring real-life case studies, "Who's Your Gladys?" reveals how large and small companies from a variety of industries avoid creating difficult customers in the first place.

EDITORIAL REVIEWS:

From Publishers Weekly: "When times are tough, argue entrepreneur Suttle and manager Vest, it's the companies with exceptional customer service that survive. The eponymous Gladys represents the company's hypothetical most challenging client—the one who requires a high level of skill to manage. Using the stories of 10 diverse companies—the Canfield Training Group (of Chicken Soup for the Soul fame), Singapore Airlines, a polyethylene piping product supplier, a spa, an eyeglass distributor and a medical center among them—the authors show companies how to win over Gladys, develop strong client relationships and deliver the superior service that will help them through an economic crisis. It's the substantive, down-to-earth advice that sets this book apart from its competitors, as well as the helpful chapter-end sections, which contain practical points and thought-provoking questions and answers. The whole is an extremely well-organized and easy to use guide illuminated by the authors' obvious passion for customer service.

“It’s the substantive, down-to-earth advice that sets this book apart from its competitors, as well as the helpful chapter-end sections, which contain practical points and thought-provoking questions and answers. The whole is an extremely well-organized and easy to use guide illuminated by the authors’ obvious passion for customer service.” --Publishers Weekly

From Corp! Magazine, Detroit, MI: "This is a fast-paced and readable book on customer relationship building. The authors are effective communicators on the subject, and the real-life stories make for a solid book on the topic." --Corp! Magazine

From Accounting Today: "[Who's Your Gladys?] offers plenty of useful advice on turning the people who pay your bills into your biggest fans." --Accounting Today

Selected by Customer Service Newsletter as one of the best customer service books of 2009: "Who's Your Gladys? offers not only a detailed look at how customer service works at several successful companies, it provides a convenient blueprint for how to examine and benchmark your own customer service operations."