You've almost certainly heard of the online shoe retailer Zappos.com and their amazing customer service. They have an impressive 5 out of 5 rating on Epinions.com with over 16,000 customers posting reviews. Their "secret sauce" is actually a very simple employee engagement strategy, but they execute it far better than 99% of the companies out there. Zappos has built its core values around outstanding customer service and everything they do is connected to those values. Here are just a few examples:

Inc. Magazine ran a fabulous article in their January/February edition called "The ultimate business tune-up for times like these". The article quotes a wide range of business leaders who give quick-hit ideas for all of us who want to improve performance. Here are my favorite (and not so favorite) suggestions:

I know I'm not the only one to notice that Starbucks and McDonalds are starting to compete over the same customers. What's interesting to me is the customer service delimma Starbucks is apparently facing. Do they continue to appeal to more and more of the same demographic as McDonalds? Or, do they hold firm to their coffee house roots (with the power of a global brand). Is it even possible to be both?

I received a Hallmark card in the mail this week. It was in a plain blue envelope with no return address. Hmmmm.

We can learn a lot about customer service from independent service providers. Whether they are small business owners, freelance contractors, or a department of one within a company, these people make their living off the service they provide. This posting is part three of a three part series where we’ll take a closer look at some successful examples to learn how service can make a difference when you are on your own. Part three features a “individual producer” within a company.

The CBS news program, 60 Minutes, has done a few profiles on the people losing their jobs as a result of DHL pulling out of the U.S. market. In early posts, I've criticized DHL for not delivering on their brand promise and for not understanding the underlying causes of their poor performance. CBS has taken it a step further by looking at the people on the frontlines.

We can learn a lot about customer service from independent service providers. Whether they are small business owners, freelance contractors, or a department of one within a company, these people make their living off the service they provide. This posting is parttwo of a three part series where we’ll take a closer look at some successful examples to learn how service can make a difference when you are on your own. Read part 1 here.

PricewaterhouseCoopers recently released its 2008 Global CEO Survey that asked CEOs to name their top source of competitive advantage. A total of 36% of companies identified a topic that fits squarely with our areas of practice. The #2 answer was customer service (19%) while the #3 answer was recruiting and retaining top talent (17%). (The bad news is we aren't much help with the #1 source of competitive advantage, technological innovation.)