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Testimonials
The Mom & Pop Store (Walker & Co.)
“There's a great deal of good journalism in Spector's book, and it affirms what I've long believed: that this kind of small, family business is integral to the American experience.”
- Gay Talese“A warm and personal look at the entry point of American emigrant entrepreneurship. The Mom and Pop Store is part Studs Terkel, part Bill Bryson, as Spector mixes family history with his vast knowledge of retail.”
- Paco Underhill, author of Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping “These personal accounts and reminiscences of tenacity, pluck, resourcefulness and integrity, peppered with a few shakes of history, could forever change your interactions with local businesses.”
- Jennifer Rockne, director, American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA)"Every business lesson my dad ever taught me was built around the idea of treasuring every single customer. The resourceful entrepreneurs you'll meet in this captivating book live by that simple but powerful idea.”
- Bruce Nordstrom, chairman emeritus, Nordstrom, Inc."We need more mom and we need more pop. Do you want to know why? Because they care. Caring matters. If you need proof, Robert Spector has it.”
- Seth Godin, author of Tribes “Spector is tapping into the powerful movement of localism. At its center - along with our Main Streets - are small, independent shops that are reinventing our connection to community. The Mom & Pop Store is an inspiration for would-be entrepreneurs and civic leaders alike.”
- Doug Loescher, director, National Trust Main Street CenterThe Nordstrom Way to Customer Service Excellence (Wiley)
Nobody does it better than Nordstrom. And this is the first thorough, close-up look at its service secrets. A real winner!
- Tom Peters Nordstrom is legendary for the way they take care of the people who walk through their doors. Spector has made THE NORDSTROM WAY available for everyone to turn their ducks into eagles.
- Ken Blanchard, co-author, The One Minute Manager Outstanding customer service and Nordstrom are synonymous. Their innovative approach has allowed them to find out what the customers want and then do it. Their standards of service are what we all shoot for.
- David Glass, CEO, Wal-Mart Stores, IncNordstrom is a national model for outstanding customer service. American business should use this book as a primer to learn how to make and keep happy, satisfied customers
- J. Willard Marriott, Jr., Chairman and President, Marriott International, Inc. When you run a family business that includes your customers as extended family, you're unbeatable. This book outlines an American family saga that has become the admiration of the world.
- Leonard A. Lauder, President and CEO, Estee Lauder Companies Nordstrom's business is built on one-to-one communication with the customer. Their professional salespeople bridge the gap between the designer and the consumer.
- Donna Karan, Design and Chief Executive Officer, Donna Karan Company This book documents in rich detail the marvelous ingredients in the stew that makes the Nordstrom Way so outstandingly successful. It hammers home the underlying truth: You must make the decision to trust people as customers and as employees. This pervades every aspect of Nordstrom described in this very readable book.
- Donald Petersen, retired chairman, Ford Motor Company THE NORDSTROM WAY takes an unusual look at the direct link between empowering your employees and creating a long-term sustainable relationship with your customers. More businesses should follow this example.
- Howard Schultz, Chairman and CEO, Starbucks Coffee Company ...for anyone looking to understand customer service at its best, this book bubbles with customer service insights.
- Business Week..shows how Nordstrom provides a culture that empowers employees and gives them the flexibility to be a ‘company of entrepreneurs
- USA TODAYYou don't have to be a department store operator to be inspired by - and pick up ideas from THE NORDSTROM WAY. The approach has relevance to any kind of company for whom complete customer satisfaction is important.
- MaxiMarketing Insights If you've ever been a customer, you've probably experienced poor service. Robert Spector has written a book to help with this problem.
- Memphis Business JournalHighly recommended for any business collection.
- Library JournalThe authors vividly illustrate the fine points of the customer-service strategy that has made Nordstrom one f the most respected - and feared - retail powerhouses in the United States.
- Training & Development MagazineThe secrets of the Nordstroms' success are spelled out in THE NORDSTROM WAY.
- Sales & Marketing Management Laced with anecdotes...the voices of the salespeople speak clearly through the pages.... Shows how American business change in order to succeed in the '90s.
- Positive Impact Amazon.com: Get Big Fast (HarperBusiness)
I thought that I knew the Amazon story before reading this book. How wrong I was! Robert Spector tells the Amazon story with exceptional acuity and journalistic flair. And he draws lessons that all businesses should heed. This book will be a business history classic.
- Philip Kotler, Professor of International Marketing, J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern UniversityA wonderful opportunity to look behind the scenes at what makes Jeff Bezos and Amazon.com tick! This is a must read for any serious player in the Internet economy. Bezos's fanatical focus on the total customer experience is the key takeaway!
- Patricia Seybold, founder and CEO, Patricia Seybold Group and author, Customers.comWarning! You won't be able to put this book down after reading the first paragraph. It's really two books in one: a fascinating tale of one of the most interesting revolutionaries of our time, and an insider's guide to the world of e-business. Your investment in this book will pay off immediately!
- David Siegel, author, Futurize Your Enterprise and Creating Killer Web SitesA compelling look at the 'granddaddy' of e-commerce companies, this book is brimming with detail about the genesis, maturation -- and even missteps -- of Amazon.com. It will be interesting to see how Amazon itself figures out how to review this revealing book.
- David A. Kaplan, author of the national bestseller, The Silicon BoysThis is the book that everyone doing business in the New Economy must read. Robert Spector puts the spotlight on the how, what and why of Amazon's incredible performance. The result is a much-needed, unbiased picture of this towering phenomenon of the Internet Age. It inspires, informs and mesmerizes the reader from start to finish
- Stan Rapp, author, The New Maximarketing, and Chairman and CEO, McCann Relationship Marketing WorldwideIn the field of e-commerce, this is the case study to end all case studies. Robert Spector does a superb job in capturing--and drawing insights from--the story of the e-commerce company that defined the Web retailing category, established benchmarks of on-line service excellence, and continues to take customer obsession to new levels. There are lessons here for anyone who wishes to understand Amazon.com's success to date and its vision for the future. This is a landmark account of one of the great business stories of our time.
- Jeffrey F. Rayport, CEO, Monitor Marketspace Center, and Associate Professor, Harvard Business SchoolAn engrossing study of the company many [e-watchers] will find time spent with Amazon.com extremely rewarding.
- Financial TimesThis inspirational rags-to-riches tale will spur on even more entrepreneurs to make their virtual millions.
- The Mirror, LondonA valiant and successful attempt by an experienced journalist to present a "state of the state" of Amazon and to show how it got so big so fast. Along the way, he relates the occasional corporate gaffes and hurried amendments to Amazon's business model that were inevitable in such a rapidly growing business.
- Harvard Business School Web site HBS Working Knowledge.Book-0f-the-month recommendation HBS's E-Commerce & the Marketspace topic area The book of the month is Spector's impressively researched look at the founding and development of the company that took e-tailing mainstream. Detailed down to specific conversations, the book gathers the massive archive of information about Amazon into one highly readable package.
- Business Books ReviewCategory Killers: The Retail Revolution and Its Impact on Consumer Culture (Harvard Business School Press)
Spector has written a series of detail-rich profiles, perfect for reference
- The Washington PostAnyone interested in the future of shopping, from both a business and cultural perspective, will find this book to be a useful primer.
- Publishers WeeklyRobert Spector has once again provided a historically accurate and insightful portrait of American retailing in terms of 'where it is' and 'where it's going.' This is a compelling read for anyone who professes to know a thing or two about the retail industry, especially with regard to what the future might hold. As Spector so effectively points out, the one sure thing in retail is that change is constant and those not quick to adapt will surely be left behind.
- Bob DiNicola, Chairman Zale Corp. and 32-year veteran of the retail industry.Robert Spector is Americas ' preeminent retail historian. In the tradition of Stephen Ambrose, Spector's books are aimed at a popular audience looking for an enjoyable and informative read. His latest work, Category Killers looks at the evolution of the Big Box. From flourishing Wal-Mart to struggling Toys-R-Us-retail is the most effective dip-stick we have on where we have been and where we might go.
- Paco Underhill, Founder and Managing Director of Envirosell Inc.Category Killers is thorough, fact-filled, and engaging. It is the best history I have read of the development and ramifications of large-scale retailing.
- Joseph H. Ellis, former partner and head of Retail Research Group, Goldman SachsAnytime Anywhere: How the Best Bricks-and-Clicks Businesses Deliver Seamless Service to Their Customers (Perseus)
Spector does the seemingly impossible: explains how to align the channels of your business. This book will enable you to provide the highest level of customer service.
- Guy Kawasaki, author Rules for Revolutionaries , and CEO, Garage Technology VenturesAnytime, Anywhere service has been a longstanding principle of Wells Fargo. Robert Spector has shown how this principle can apply to virtually any business interested in becoming a success in their industry.
- Dick Kovacevich, CEO/Chairman, Wells Fargo