Chapter One. Owning Your Customers

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.

ALBERT EINSTEIN

ASK MOST CONSUMERS and businesses today, and they will tell you that customer service is at an all-time low. I, myself, am sick and tired of the service I get from most companies these days.

What I do find, and find often, is that there are customers who wouldn’t dream of doing business with anyone but a few selected companies. In spite of location, higher prices, and competition, these customers talk about their good experiences with these service providers, and they go back to these companies time and time again.

I call this “owning” your customer. Most companies simply “rent” their customers, by which I mean ...

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