Customers for Life Carl Sewell Summary

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Business Book Review
Why did I choose this book?
Written by Carl Sewell and Paul B. Brown, Customers for Life is the book I have chosen for this paper. The first reason why I have chosen this book is that it focuses on the importance of customer service. We are told that the sales assistants are always there to enhance our shopping experience on a daily basis. Whether or not we will return to the previous store for shopping depends on how good our experience has been. The second reason I decided to read and review this book was that I was familiar with the success story of Carl Sewell: how he made his dealership company an exemplifying business all over the country. This historical fact created a curiosity in me to pick up this book over the others. Lastly, this book outlines how employees should be given utmost importance and what kind of facilities they deserve in a business. I was fascinated by the theme of this book and wanted to know what approach Sewell had taken to get the best out of his colleagues during his envious career of being a retailer.
Summary of the book with key points and concepts and learnings
This new version of the book which was published some years ago extends Sewell’s vision of customer service with new and fresh ideas. The authors support their ideas with the help of new real-life examples. Customers for Life also expands the concept of Ten Commandments of Customer Service from Sewell’s original book and discusses how it is relevant with respect to the current world (Sewell & Brown 13).
1 Bring me back alive -- Ask customers what they want and give it to them again and again.
2 Systems not smile -- Saying please and thank you does not ensure you will do the job right the first time. Only systems guarantee you this thing.
3 Under promise, over deliver -- Customers expect you to keep your word. So you should always exceed it.
4 When the customer asks, the answer should always be “yes.”
5 Fire your inspectors and consumer relations department. Every employee who deals with clients must have the authority to handle complaints.
6 Are there no complaints? Something must be wrong; you should encourage your customers to tell you what you are doing wrong.
7 Measure everything -- Professional sports teams do it. You should do the same thing.
8 Salaries are unfair -- Pay people like partners.
9 Your mother was right -- Show people some love and respect. You should be polite, as it really works.
10 Japanese them -- Learn how to do it in the best possible way. Make their systems your own, and then you can improve them.
Both Sewell and Brown also built their concepts on the solid ground of excellent customer service. They put forward the concept of treating the customer with a smile and nice gesture rather than producing a good product (Sewell & Brown 24). Good customer experience can bring them back to your store over and over again, as you will sell them numerous things over their lifetime. A returning customer means more and more money in terms of business.
Customer for Life comes with entirely five new chapters. Based on his last ten years' experience, Sewell brings forward many new ...