nickshanagher

“Have you ever heard the story of Joshie the giraffe?” ask Matthew Dixon, Nick Toman and Rick Delisi at the start of The Effortless Experience , a book that spells out how to win customer loyalty. It goes like this. Joshie is the property of a little boy who stayed with his family at a Ritz-Carlton hotel in Florida. After the holiday, Joshie’s owner discovered his toy was missing and to calm him down his parents told him that perhaps Joshie had simply taken an extended vacation. So what did the housekeeping staff at the Ritz-Carlton do after finding Joshie? They created a photo album with the giraffe lounging by the pool, relaxing on the beach, and making new friends with other stuffed animals. And then they sent Joshie back with the photo album and some other swag. This is the sort of story that customer service directors love. It is also a perfect example of what not to base your service strategy on, Dixon and his team assert. Based on detailed surveys with more than 97,000...