The Service Profit Chain: How Leading Companies Link Profit and Growth to Loyalty, Satisfaction, and Value

Heskett and Sasser are from the Harvard Business School. Hart is the man with the practical experience. The book covers a lot of ground and there are numerous examples of how customer service oriented companies outperform competitors in similar indsutries that are more inward focused. Similar to Tom Peters "In search of Excellence" except that whereas more than half of companies chosen for their excellence by tom Peters are now gone, the companies showcased by heskett el al are still alive and kicking. There is a lot of empirical data and anectodal case studies from the airline, hotel and other industries. Start with this book and also buy "The Service Profit Chain" by the same writers to gain a complete understanding of how to design a competitive service process. These books are exec or MBA level. Nothing for the faint hearted. Don't let the age of the books fool you.Its all there, its all applicable, and better yet the solutions don't require dependence on high tech technology and can be implemented by small business as well as large. Jim Kayalar is a certified management consultant and has consulted with tourism development organizations, hotels and resorts. [...]

This should be everyone's bible. 6 stars! It is the best business book available . . . If you're going to read one book this is it...forget "one minute manager" or "good to great", "freakonomics" or "world is flat". Read this and know it and undersand its implications.

This is one of the first books that discuss the client-side of businesses. When this book was published, very few authors had thought of addressing this topic, and Heskett, Sasser and Hart did an excellent job in their analysis of the service industries. The market for banks, hotels, airlines and other service providers has changed dramatically in the last ten years, and the authors show what the leaders in each of these markets did to keep their customers coming back. They show that the main goal of the corporation is to 'achieve goals for the customers', not only perform services day in and day out. I have read many other books on this same subject after this one, but none with such wit and brilliance.

I think the authors provide a powerful and empirical approach to designing and analyzing a service organization for success. The recommendations are not always intuitive nor easy to implement, but, based on my experience in several industries, I think they are nearly always correct. With a partner, I am starting a own company and have read this book twice very carefully, with lots of notes in the margins, to make sure we do the important things well.

This is the type of book that can change an entire corporate vision. The authors are meticulous in presenting their philosophy, and back every word with carefully researched examples from best practice companies. Unlike many of the "quick read" publications that present a superficial view of service (particularly from a marketing perspective), this book is clearly the result of several years work in the field. Every corporate manager who is serious about customer value management needs to take some time out to study the Service Profit Chain.