Customer service

In 1970, Citibank’s services rated poorly when compared with other banks’. In response, management ordered an overhaul of the services area and brought in managers with experience in manufacturing environments to make the services more efficient. That program succeeded in ensuring new processing efficiency and management control; yet it did not go far enough in […]

As technology becomes more powerful and affordable, your company is only limited by its imagination.

When Kevin Peters became president of Office Depot's North American operations, in 2010, its customer service scores (as graded by a third-party mystery-shopping...

Your strategy should be driven by relationship-building - not shiny new tech.

A distinctive brand is good for business, of course. But you’d be surprised how important it is to a firm’s overall performance. We studied how customer perceptions of brand differentiation related to stock price over the course of 11 years in 275 “monobrand” companies such as AT&T, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, and Reebok. (Customer brand-perceptions data […]

The news from Google this week is that it has launched a ninth version of its Chrome browser, with the biggest change being that it incorporates the “instant” capabilities the company introduced in 2010. As you probably know, Google Instant is the enhancement to Google’s search engine that begins suggesting results even as you type. […]

A refresher on customer churn rate.

For one, they're not flexible enough.

Superior customer service can be an essential source of strength as companies emerge from the recession, but managers need to understand the extent to which the consumer landscape has shifted. Weakened brands, customers’ easy access to information about vendors, and the erosion of barriers to switching among competitors have combined to create a much more […]

Who knew they care so much about breakfast?

A pilot program shows how mobile technology can be used to improve health outcomes and lower costs.

To find year-round success, forge genuine connections, offer impeccable customer service, and discover hidden opportunities.

They can amount to 50-80% of customers - and consume about 40-60% of a company's costs.

Customer service jobs are notoriously joyless, and callers' experiences with reps can be just as unsatisfying. But T-Mobile has a new operating model...

Research suggests a new way for companies to use customer satisfaction surveys: Instead of asking customers what went wrong, begin by asking what went...

Born into poverty, Joe Girard sold 13,001 cars over the course of 15 years—not fleet sales but sales to individual car buyers. He holds the Guinness World Record for being the world’s greatest salesman. In 1973, he sold 1,425 cars, and in one month, he sold 174—a record that still stands today. HBR senior editor […]

This is the story of how I learned the key to great customer service. I’d come down to New York for HSM’s World Innovation Forum. The first day of the conference, customer service guru and Zappos chief Tony Hsieh gave his spiel about Zappos being a service company that just happened to sell shoes. In […]

Rene Carayol of Cass Business School explains how First Direct's commitment to customer service saved a life on 9/11.

How one program did it.

This post is part of Creating a Customer-Centered Organization. Much of the conversation about customer-centricity focuses on business-to-consumer (B2C)...

Over the decades, Kinko's had forged a deep emotional bond with consumers by easing their anxiety and helping them solve pressing document processing...

This case describes the history of Desko, a Canadian manufacturer of wood office furniture, as it faced a crisis that threatened its own existence. The...

At the age of 39, Solmaz Altın took over the helm at Allianz Turkey. Solmaz quickly realized that, although the insurance market was thinly penetrated...

Supplements the (A) case. A rewritten version of an earlier supplement.

In early January 2016, the chief strategy officer and his team at Ippudo, an expanding ramen restaurant operation, were tasked to formulate both marketing...

Having diagnosed the situation, he made overdue investments in systems and brought in new blood from outside, instilling new discipline, capabilities...

This case describes unruly passenger behaviour on National Aviation Company of India Ltd.'s New York-Delhi flight. It elaborates on the airline crew's...

The Bertelsmann-owned French book club, France Loisirs, has successfully operated a subscription-based business model delivering a remarkably high profit...

This case examines Nova Post's strategic response to the challenges posed by the Russian full-scale military invasion into Ukraine in 2022, focusing on...

See (A) case.

Alibris is an Internet-era company providing search and fulfillment services for hard-to-find (rare, used, and out-of-print) books. At the time of the...

Explores the interface of an information system that keeps track of guests and their preferences, and the people systems that deliver multiple services...

Tim O'Shaughnessy, the 29-year-old CEO of LivingSocial, is growing a revolutionary worldwide business of "daily deals"-in which retailers offer a heavily-discounted...

Southwest Airlines is well known as the low-fare airline that has achieved ongoing financial success in one of the most financially troubled industries...

The case describes in detail Desko's customer order process. It highlights the importance of this key business process and how its inefficiencies can...

At the age of 39, Solmaz Altın took over the helm at Allianz Turkey. Solmaz quickly realized that, although the insurance market was thinly penetrated...

State Bank of India: SMS Unhappy, is a deceptively simple but comprehensive case of a public sector company using a customer complaint management tool...

Apparel entrepreneur Carol Chen used several dozen high-end dresses from her pageant days to start a fashion rental company in Singapore, inspired by...

In 1970, Citibank’s services rated poorly when compared with other banks’. In response, management ordered an overhaul of the services area and brought in managers with experience in manufacturing environments to make the services more efficient. That program succeeded in ensuring new processing efficiency and management control; yet it did not go far enough in […]

As technology becomes more powerful and affordable, your company is only limited by its imagination.

When Kevin Peters became president of Office Depot's North American operations, in 2010, its customer service scores (as graded by a third-party mystery-shopping...

Your strategy should be driven by relationship-building - not shiny new tech.

Over the decades, Kinko's had forged a deep emotional bond with consumers by easing their anxiety and helping them solve pressing document processing...

A distinctive brand is good for business, of course. But you’d be surprised how important it is to a firm’s overall performance. We studied how customer perceptions of brand differentiation related to stock price over the course of 11 years in 275 “monobrand” companies such as AT&T, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, and Reebok. (Customer brand-perceptions data […]

The news from Google this week is that it has launched a ninth version of its Chrome browser, with the biggest change being that it incorporates the “instant” capabilities the company introduced in 2010. As you probably know, Google Instant is the enhancement to Google’s search engine that begins suggesting results even as you type. […]

This case describes the history of Desko, a Canadian manufacturer of wood office furniture, as it faced a crisis that threatened its own existence. The...