Great Service!

We wrote the book on customer service! Based on the principles that have made customer service a bottom-line at Zingerman's, our approach to treating the customer like royalty clearly lays out the steps we teach our staff for both how to give great service, and how to effectively handle customer complaints. Full of tips and tools that are easy to understand and implement, there is something in this book for all size organizations in any industry.

Excerpted from Zingerman’s Guide to Good Leading, Part 1: A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Building a Great Business. Among the small and very easy-to-implement things you can do to make a big difference in an organization very quickly, appreciation is high on our list: the cost is next to nil, and the benefits are very big. It’s incredible how far a bit of recognition and caring, heartfelt positive feedback will go.

Excerpted from Zingerman’s Guide to Good Leading, Part 2: A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Being a Better Leader. If traditional business models have everybody serving their boss, Servant Leadership flips that model on its head. It says, when in doubt, do what’s right for the organization. It's a natural law of business that if we want our staff to give great service to our guests, we as leaders need to give great service to the staff. This secret explores the why and how-to behind this transformational approach.

Excerpted from Zingerman’s Guide to Good Leading, Part 2: A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Being a Better Leader. Our approach to Stewardship is based on our belief that the effectiveness of our authority is inversely related to the frequency with which we use it. Instead, we work to interact with everyone—regardless of where they are on our org chart—as if they are our peers, negotiating as equals to arrive at freely chosen commitments. It's all about how to take authority out of the equation and increase the effectiveness of our leadership in the process.

Excerpted from Zingerman’s Guide to Good Leading, Part 4: A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to the Power of Beliefs in Business. Like its philosophical fellows, belief and hope, the spirit of generosity is an essential element in developing a sustainable organization.