The Customer Comes Second

1482 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: personal values in decision making

Who Comes First?

"The Customer Comes Second" is an account of the management and leadership style of Hal Rosenbluth, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rosenbluth International, a global travel management firm that was founded in 1892 by Marcus Rosenbluth, Hal’s great-grandfather. The premise of Hal Rosenbluth’s management style is just as the title of the book suggests; concentrate on your employees first and your customers second. I found the management practices outlined by Mr. Rosenbluth to be innovative and applicable to all types of business, not just the travel industry. I was also very intrigued by some of the creative employment practices used by Rosenbluth International as well as their fight to stay alive in the travel industry following the tragic events of September 11, 2001 (9/11) (Rosenbluth, Prologue xi).

The majority of the book focuses on the process of hiring good people, treating them right, and letting their love and dedication for their company translate into premier customer service. The idea of putting employees first seems simple enough, however in today’s corporate environment it is easy to get caught up in the traditional measures of corporate success and lose sight of taking care of a company’s most important asset, its people.

It all starts with hiring the right people, and the book outlines some great strategies for doing just that. Rosenbluth contends that the most important approach to hiring is to find nice people. Their selection process focuses on finding kind, caring, compassionate and unselfish people as opposed to people with impressive resumes that tout multiple degrees, years of experience and impressive salary histories. It is customary for Rosenbluth International to intervie...

... middle of paper ...

...of finding good people and treating them right is not new. In fact, if you were to ask ten successful corporate CEO’s what their recipe for success was, all ten would likely mention the importance of finding good people and treating them right. The Customer Comes Second was a fantastic book because it provided real-life examples and anecdotes of just HOW to follow the philosophy of putting employees first and the customer second. The success of the company following the 9/11 tragedy gives substance and merit to the philosophies of Hal Rosenbluth. He does not just tell about his ideas; he explains how to make them work and then backs it up with an incredible story of success at a time when most travel management companies seized to exist.

Works Cited

Rosenbluth, Hal F., and Diane McFerrin Peters. The Customer Comes Second.

New York: HarperCollins, 1992, 2002.

Show More
Related

  • Southwest Airlines: Servant Leadership

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    Unlike most corporations, Southwest has an inverted pyramid structure with employees at the top, a higher priority than any other stakeholder. Customers come second, as Southwest President Colleen Barrett describes it: "If we treat them [employees] right, and give them proactive customer service, they...will in turn assure that our second most important group, [the passengers]...receive the same proactive customer service." (Barrett, Colleen. Interview. Knowledge @ Wharton. Wharton School of Management: 8 Jul 2008. Podcast). Barrett and her colleagues are demonstrating conceptualization, or the ability to distinguish what are their top short and long term goals. They hope to create a continuous wheel of service where employees at the top ensure that passengers below them are always satisfied. To complete the organization pyramid, management is at the bottom. This further embodies the spirit of servant leadership, where the focus is on increased services to others rather then to

    Read More

  • Customer Service at Southwest Air

    1652 Words  | 4 Pages

    As the project management triangle states, “do you want something done good, cheap, or fast?. Pick two!” That had been the constraints applied to many businesses until the launch of Southwest airlines in the mid 1960’s. Southwest managed to break free of the management triangle and offer safe (good), low cost (cheap), and timely (fast) air service in Texas and eventually across the United States. From the beginning, the company’s staff and management shared these goals, and developed a foundation on which to build the business. Visionary leaders Rollin King, Herb Kelleher, Colleen Barrett and other early leaders at Southwest, proved that there is no more competitive advantage than a dedicated, loyal work force. Her Kelleher’s transformational leadership style was just what the new airline needed to be successful, and motivate the staff of SWA to do what no other airline had done before: offer cheap, short distance, no frills air service, and make a profit doing it.

    Read More

  • Business Management Case Study: Yakkatech Corp.

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    YakkaTech Corp. is growing IT services firm which mainly installs and upgrades enterprise software systems and related hardware. They have grown and consolidated as well as become more efficient at their business but this isn’t without growing pains. Their employees seem to lack job satisfaction and their customers feel that the employees “seem indifferent to their problems.” The company’s voluntary quit rates have risen above the industry average while management raises pay rates in the hopes that customer service quality and productivity would improve. However, customer service complaints and productivity remain low and employee moral seems to be low as well.

    Read More

  • Generation Maslow's Theory: The Hierarchy Of The Social Needs

    2595 Words  | 6 Pages

    The working environment faces fresh and new graduates every time. In today’s rapid pace working environment more and more young and aspiring graduates joins the workforce in hope to fulfill their needs. Many a times, we see corporate players decide to focus more on their direct customers also known as their paying customer due to the being their revenue generator. There are extensive studies and research on how to retain the said customers by providing them with immense customer satisfaction. However, companies sometimes do neglect their indirect customers or their employees. These employees are the backbone of any company as the play an important role in keeping the company going.

    Read More

  • Chick-Fil-A Customer Service Habits

    482 Words  | 1 Pages

    Customers are in awe of the stance this company has taken not only for the customer service but the way they tend to care and want the best for their employees. It has been proven time and again that a great management team can create a great working atmosphere and that initially trickles downhill to the other employees that are hands on with the customers. It’s simple, happy employees equal happy

    Read More

  • Southwest Airlines' Success

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    To achieve growth objectives, the company developed a great customer service, lowered operating costs, and provided efficient training to the employees. With the very low turnover rate, 4.5 percent, the company has been able to hire and retain their highly skilled and professional employees. Southwest Airlines philosophy incorporates the critical elements to success – “hire the right people and invest in their development” (Bryant, 2007). Southwest has changed the view on airlines industry; it is the most unique and rewarding employer that believes “in developing and promoting people, building great teams, thinking strategically, and achieving excellent results” (Bryant, 2007). The company calls it the “leadership expectations” (Bryant, 2007). The company tradition is to respect and sustain the supportive work enviroment in which employees can pursue their career and development. In Southwest, employees ar...

    Read More

  • Harrah's Entertainment Case Analysis

    861 Words  | 2 Pages

    This article is about Harrah’s Entertainment; one of the largest casino entertainments made a decision to move away from being a product based company to a strategic marketing company geared towards customer satisfaction by implementing a customer focused rewards program. Bill Harrah, the founder of the company established the company’s reputation on the premise of pride of the employees working for “the best in the business” while given more attention to the condition of the properties. However, when Gary Loveman joined the company as the new Chief operating officer, he made a move towards customer service. Gary Loveman hired Marilyn Winn, the head of Human Resources, to change how the company engaged in people development. Winn came up with a strategic plan to develop Harrah’s human capital. As a result, Winn is faced with the difficult task of improving employee motivation and job satisfaction in a rough economy after 9/11, which changed our nation forever. Although, the company gained market share it did not quite meet the company’s projected level.

    Read More

  • First, Break All The Rules

    871 Words  | 2 Pages

    This book covers exactly what employees need to deliver extraordinary results, and the four key things managers need to do to create the environment that makes those extraordinary results possible. The insights of these managers are not just for certain companies or a fad, they work in the real world. These ideas, thoughtfully implemented, have created workplaces where high productivity, high profit, low employee turnover and high customer satisfaction.

    Read More

  • Marketing: Burberry Target Audience

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    Soman,D & Marand, S (2009). Managing Customer Value: One Stage at a Time.: World Scientific Publishing. p9-14.

    Read More

  • Customer Service Case Study

    1457 Words  | 3 Pages

    Customer service is valued as a competitive tool by many organisations. It gives you the ability to gain customer loyalty while meeting the customer’s expectations. Staff will have many skills and knowledge that will provide a competitive edge. Most organisations are known for the quality of their customer service. This means that they are known for good customer service or poor customer service. However, being known for good customer service will attract customers. It will also attract customers who are usually hard to reach.

    Read More

  • Southwest Airlines: Business Creativity and Innovation

    2000 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gittell, J. H. (2003). The Southwest Airlines Way: Using the Power of Relationships to Achieve High Performance. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Read More

  • The Customer Service of McDonald´s

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    For many important and well known companies its people are most important asset. For McDonald’s this applies as well. Employees who demonstrate positive attitudes and ability of commitment strive to be number one in customer satisfaction. For this same reason, McDonalds’s restaurants focus on attracting and hiring the best and at the same time provide the best place to work. Unfortunately McDonald’as well as other companies have to experience staff turnover. Many of these reasons consist of changing careers, going back to school, leaving the area, and even new opportunities they are offered. Although, it can be very expensive to recruit and train staff to reduce turnover, McDonald’ reinforces these steps and makes sure they choose wisely and also treat their staff well. McDonald’ needs and looks for people who want to exceed and deliver great customer satisfaction service. In order for them to make sure they select the best, they must identify quality skills, and or behaviors that applicants must demonstrate in order to be hired and be part of McDonald’s family. Every position or job description has an outline of the regular duties and or responsibilities McDonald’ want their employees to follow. McDonald’ also has a person specification where personal skills and competences can be defined of each applicant.

    Read More

  • Essay On Impact Of Motivation On Employee Performance

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1997, Development Dimension International (DDI) carried out interviews, literature reviews and surveys to study the effective service environment. They found that there is a good strong relationship between employee performance and loyalty and its effects on increasing company productivity and profitability.

    Read More

  • Customer Satisfaction Strategies

    1040 Words  | 3 Pages

    We are in the midst of a revolution in business. Some call it a customer revolution, others a quality revolution, others a service revolution. Organizations are attempting to obtain increased customer satisfaction by focusing on the quality of their products and the service provided. This movement toward quality has produced significant benefits but just like other business fads, joining and adopting the religion does not insure that the real objective of producing customer satisfaction will be obtained.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Customer Service

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Excellent customer service is defined as service that treats customers with a friendly attitude and tries to resolve their problem or question as efficiently as possible.” (Reference). Employees also need to realize that providing excellent customer service will provide positive word of mouth recommendations for the business that they work for in the community. A business wants their customers to say that I am coming back to this location because of the customer service that I received from this employee. “You’ll never have a product or price advantage again. They can be easily duplicated, but a strong customer service culture can’t be copied. -Jerry Fritz”.

    Read More

More about The Customer Comes Second

Open Document