Read an Excerpt from "The Nordstrom Way To Customer Service Excellence"

The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service Excellence describes how Nordstrom earned its legendary reputaton—and reveals the principles behind its unequalled customer service.

How many times have your heard a company claim to be “the Nordstrom” of their particular industry? A top broker for Century 21, tells Fast Company magazine, “I want people to think of me as the Nordstrom of real estate.” A college dean vows to create “the Nordstrom of Admissions and Records.” The University of Colorado Hospital installs a black baby grand piano in its the lobby and advertises itself as “The Nordstrom of Hospitals.” One can find similar comparisons to Nordstrom among yoga studios, hot tub companies, public libraries, dental offices, pet stores, and my favorite, garbage disposal.

So, what does it mean to be the Nordstrom of your industry? The obvious answer is a commitment to customer service. But what does that commitment entail? And, more important, how can an organization create a culture and atmosphere to provide “Nordstrom-like” service? This book answers those questions. If you want to be the Nordstrom of your industry, this is your guidebook. It will help put in place Nordstrom-style systems, motivational tools, and a service-oriented culture that leads to delighted, loyal customers. This comprehensive handbook includes a wealth of tools for managers and trainers who work with frontline service providers. Implementation resources include: Questions for assessing and improving your customer service culture. Exercises for improving teamwork, motivation, and selling effectiveness. Worksheets and forms on how to enhance customer service.

The book is divided into three sections.

Part I: What Senior Managers Can Do looks at how an organization creates an identifiable and sustainable culture the way Nordstrom has done it. Nothing can be accomplished without the culture. Also in this section, we explore how organizations can create “an inviting place” for their customers, whether in person, online or on the telephone; and how organizations can provide their customers with a variety of choices to satisfy customers’ needs.

Part II: What Frontline Managers Can Do examines the area of influence of the people closest to the employees. These responsibilities include hiring the right people, then empowering, managing, mentoring, praising, rewarding and retaining those people. As most of us know, senior managers create the atmosphere and the culture, but it is up to the people on the frontlines to do the rest.

Part III: What Employees Can Do explores what the role of those individuals in giving great customer service, including developing and maintaining personal relationships and encouraging both teamwork and individual achievement among their peers.

Nordstrom is a company whose managers constantly reinforce its history, its culture, its reason for being, and its unwavering dedication to think like the customer. This is the essence of a great customer service company.