Paperback: 116 pages
Publisher: Solid Press LLC; 1 edition (November 29, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0985076232
ISBN-13: 978-0985076238
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.3 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #941,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #159 in Books > Business & Money > Skills > Secretarial Aids & Training #336 in Books > Education & Teaching > Schools & Teaching > Counseling > Career Development #457 in Books > Business & Money > Job Hunting & Careers > Vocational Guidance
Author Kirt Manecke offers what he dubs "The Essential 60-Minute Crash Course" in a slender paperback sporting a sharp-looking cover in blue with yellow highlights of the word `Smile'.The text layout of the pages is equally clean and eye-catching, while the content on how to improve customer service is concise and persuasive.The book is broken up into five, easy to read chapters with each double page layout offering concise information for each skill and tip, while text boxes highlight crucial points and fact. There are also numerous references to well known authors in the customer service field, such as Malcolm Gladwell and his best selling book, BLINK.Though touted as a customer service tool, much of Manecke's advice is based on common sense social etiquette, effective communication skills and basic psychology that makes SMILE appealing and relevant to a vast audience ranging from employees and employers, high school students to high level business people, from sales staff to teachers to anybody that has a job requiring human interaction.Some of the basic skills included involve saying "please" and "thank you," acknowledging customers when they enter the store, listening actively and learning how to ask open ended questions that open the door for communication versus a "yes" or "no" answer. This advice is also adapted to allow for improvements during online communication, with the biggest advice being to spell check and proofread emails, which reflect the same courtesy, respect and consideration for the customer as attentive, effective in-person communication.
"Smile," by Kirt Manecke, should be must reading for anyone involved in customer service. However, its application is certainly much broader than this, extending to salespersons; directors of developments; insurance agents, accountants, financial planners, and anyone else who makes a living interacting with clients; and, for that matter, anyone who wants to interact positively with the people with whom he or she comes into contact in daily life."Smile" is well-written and and to the point and says briefly what others have said in much longer books. It advertises itself as "the essential 60-minute crash course," and although it took me slightly more than an hour to read it, it certainly won't take much longer than this.And it's an hour well spent. Much of its advice is just good common sense, but it doesn't hurt to hear someone say what we should know, which above all is to smile and be friendly, make eye contact, return a "Thank You" with a "You're welcome," greet with a phrase such as "How may I help you today," use the customer's name, and don't carry on a conversation with another employee while you're serving the customer. (In other words, do the opposite of something that happened to me some years ago when I was at the checkout at a fruit and vegetable store and the clerk, who had had an argument with her boss, was angrily running him down to the other cashier while she mercilessly threw my groceries into a paper sack. Needless to say, I never patronized that store again.)But there's more.
Smile: Sell More with Amazing Customer Service. The Essential 60-Minute Crash Course The Food Service Professional Guide to Controlling Restaurant & Food Service Operating Costs (The Food Service Professional Guide to, 5) (The Food Service Professionals Guide To) The Food Service Professional Guide to Controlling Restaurant & Food Service Food Costs (The Food Service Professional Guide to, 6) (The Food Service Professionals Guide To) Python: Python Programming Course: Learn the Crash Course to Learning the Basics of Python (Python Programming, Python Programming Course, Python Beginners Course) Customer Service: Career Success Through Customer Loyalty (6th Edition) The Customer Service Survival Kit: What to Say to Defuse Even the Worst Customer Situations AP® Biology Crash Course Book + Online (Advanced Placement (AP) Crash Course) AP® U.S. History Crash Course Book + Online (Advanced Placement (AP) Crash Course) AP® European History Crash Course Book + Online (Advanced Placement (AP) Crash Course) AP® English Literature & Composition Crash Course Book + Online (Advanced Placement (AP) Crash Course) AP® U.S. Government & Politics Crash Course Book + Online (Advanced Placement (AP) Crash Course) AP® Psychology Crash Course Book + Online (Advanced Placement (AP) Crash Course) AP® Human Geography Crash Course Book + Online (Advanced Placement (AP) Crash Course) AP® Environmental Science Crash Course Book + Online (Advanced Placement (AP) Crash Course) AP® Chemistry Crash Course Book + Online (Advanced Placement (AP) Crash Course) AP® World History Crash Course Book + Online (Advanced Placement (AP) Crash Course) AP® Macroeconomics Crash Course Book + Online (Advanced Placement (AP) Crash Course) AP® Microeconomics Crash Course Book + Online (Advanced Placement (AP) Crash Course) Smile & Succeed for Teens: A Crash Course in Face-to-Face Communication Raving Fans!: Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service (The One Minute Manager)