The Million Dollar Greeting: Today's Best Practices for Profit, Customer Retention, and a Happy Workplace

by Dan Sachs, Janet Scott (With), Alwyn Scott (Foreword by)

Overview

Interviews with innovative business leaders and compelling case studies reveal today's best practices for customer and employee loyalty, high profits and sustainability, and a fulfilling work culture in businesses of all sizes. 

Dan Sachs guides established and emerging businesses as they strengthen employee morale, customer retention, and profits. In The Million Dollar Greeting, he interviews cutting-edge leaders from large and small companies that are consistently profitable with their success directly tied to exceptional customer satisfaction and employees who rank their company among the top places to work. 

The original words of the business owners, including their practices, are shared and analyzed by Sachs and instructional takeaways are written for the business world as it exists today and with consideration for expected changes over the coming years. Topics covered include answering the question of what modern-day customer service is and why it matters in the digital age; what interpersonal practices lead to brand loyalty, high financial rewards, and the retention of top employees; how to create a dynamic work culture and the best ways to support employees of different age groups; and what practices will grow increasingly critical for businesses to implement over the coming years. 

Among the business leaders interviewed in the book and companies given as case examples are:

• Rob Siefker of Zappos
• Mark Hoplamazian of Hyatt Hotels
• Ari Weinzweig of Zingerman’s Delicatessen
• Steve Hindy of Brooklyn Brewery
• Mike McDerment of FreshBooks
• Richard Coraine of Union Square Hospitality Group
• Paul Speigelman of BerylHealth
• Jerrod Melman of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises
• Nick Sarillo of Nick’s Pizza & Pub 

For all entrepreneurs, managers, and employees eager to see their company thrive, this insightful volume reveals how to make your business stand out from competitive companies, how to be effective in your position, and how to make sure fulfillment and success define your business in today’s competitive climate and for years to come. 

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781948062145
Publisher:	Apollo Publishers
Publication date:	09/13/2018
Pages:	204
Product dimensions:	2.50(w) x 10.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Dan Sachs is professor of entrepreneurship, hospitality management, and service leadership at DePaul Universityand president of Meerkat Restaurant Advisory, an A-list restaurant advisory group. From 1999–2015, he owned the Bin36 restaurant group, where he developed and operated several wine-focused restaurants. He has worked with a variety of famous restaurateurs including Danny Meyer, Drew Nieporent, and Paul Bartolotta. He has an AB from Harvard College and a master’s degree from the Parisian culinary school École de Cuisine La Varenne. He lives in Chicago, IL.

Janet Scott is a writer and the owner of The Write Place, a corporate communication and academic support company. She worked for many years in journalism and marketing, and taught for twelve years at Wayne State University. She has an AB from Harvard College and a master’s degree from Eastern Michigan University. She lives in Detroit, MI.

Read an Excerpt

I started thinking about this book a couple of years ago. After examining my own experiences as an independent entrepreneur, teaching at DePaul Universityin Chicago, and years of consulting, I began to see clear patterns emerge between leadership behavior and organizations that provide great customer service. I recognized that some organizations seemed to expend a lot of energy and focus in order to offer exceptional customer service, while others did not. This isn’t a revolutionary observation, but I decided to dig a little deeper to find out what makes those “best in class” organizations tick. I dug so deep, in fact, that I wound up with this book, which showcases nine “best in class” companies and outlines the core principles their leaders have adopted to encourage and nurture great service.

I have spent most of my life working in the hospitality sector, and my career has taken me across the country. I began as a line cook and restaurant manager in New York City and eventually owned several restaurants in Chicago. I have known, worked with, or worked for some of the most respected leaders in the culinary industry. Perhaps more importantly, I grew up in an entrepreneurial home where taking care of your customer was emphasized from an early age. In many ways, I learned about customer service the “old school” way—by watching my father.

Of course, great customer service can be defined in many ways. From my perspective, it involves three key stakeholders: employees, customers, and shareholders. These are not unique components in any service company, but as our workforce begins to transition and more millennials assume positions of responsibility, organizational leadership is at an inflection point. The leaders profiled in this book realize this, and it’s no coincidence that they focus so strongly on employees when talking about their vision for excellence. For this new generation, the old top-down management structure no longer provides the workplace satisfaction that it might have in years past. As a result, new leaders are changing the workplace dynamic in an effort to capture the hearts and minds of their employees and, ultimately, their customers.

And, as you will see, the employees of these organizations are not only engaged but also stimulated by their work. This synergy between a new management structure and employee engagement leads to remarkable results: consistently profitable companies with reputations for exceptional customer service and a cohort of employees who rank their organizations in the top tier of places to work in North America. The leaders profiled in this book exhibit clear patterns of belief, behavior, and purpose. Some are “Evangelists”—true believers who have organized their companies down to the smallest detail in an effort to ensure that each aspect of operations offers employees and guests alike a consistent experience. Others are “Transformers”—leaders who recognize that the workplace is changing and that their organizations need to meet the future head-on, with eyes wide open. Last, but not least, there are “Pragmatists”—leaders who recognize and embrace changes in the employee population and the workplace culture in order to deliver quality to their customers. Regardless of their paths, these leaders share a consistent message, which is that certain core values must be present for outstanding customer service to be delivered. These values are accountability, authenticity, culture, community, and vision.

Creating an organization that champions customer service not just in words but in deeds is hard work—there’s no app for that. Yet, the leaders in this book have all developed systems to ensure that customers are not only treated well but, equally if not more importantly, employees are too—many even better than the customers.

Whether they consciously know it or not, many of the tools these leaders employ incorporate well-established tactics, some of which have existed for centuries as part of the hospitality sector of the service economy. Only as the workplace has slowly transformed in the past twenty to thirty years, have we started see these hospitality traits manifest themselves more commonly in other industries. Leaders in every industry who have embraced these tools have created organizations that differentiate themselves from the pack.

Of course, we all know there are no “perfect” leaders or companies. The strategies used by the leaders in this book will not apply to every company, and you may relate to some of the anecdotes more than others. Still, despite any shortcomings, this book illustrates how to move forward on a path that embraces a new generation of employees looking for meaning, authenticity, and a sense of community within the workplace. For these employees and their leaders, dedication to outstanding customer service may not be a religion, but it certainly could be a substitute for it.

Table of Contents

Introduction: A Brief (But Necessary) History of Customer Service

It All Starts with Hospitality, Baby

Section 1: The Evanglists

1. Zingerman's: Laser-Focused on Customer Service
2. Nick's Pizza & Pub: Employees in Charge
3. BerylHealth: Everyone Deserves a “Thank You”

Section 2: The Transformers

1. Zappos: If You're Not Changing, You're Dying
2. FreshBooks: It's All about the Rock Stars—a.k.a. Customer Service
3. Brooklyn Brewery: Education

Section 3: The Pragmatists

1. Lettuce Entertain You: Consistency for the Brand and the Customer
2. Union Square Hospitality: Start at Square One—HIRING
3. Hyatt: Top-Down Empathy

Lessons Learned

Editorial Reviews

Dan Sachs embodies all the principles of hospitality in abundance, and his career is a testament to his passion and dedication for this hard work. His deep knowledge of the industry—and his thoughtful and thorough research—is a gift to anyone who finds fulfillment in hospitality.”
—Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group and Founder of Shake Shack

“The Million Dollar Greeting is ‘the real deal’ for anyone trying to build a business that relies on excellent customer service to differentiate its product or service in this age of the internet. Dan Sachs and Janet Scott have distilled the secrets of creating a workforce that is inspired and committed. Particularly valuable is their focus on gaining the best from the millennial generation. And the book is so readable that once you pick it up you will not want to put it down—a remarkable achievement for a business book. I loved it.”
—Robin Smith, Chairman, Publishers Clearing House

“The Million Dollar Greeting is going to help ripple some great thoughts and get people moving more in line with how the world is thinking today, or how more of the world should be thinking.”
—Jon Dwoskin, Host of the THINK Business with Jon Dwoskin podcast

“Dan’s the man, and I loved his book—very team centric. We all know that it takes all of us to get the job done, and you’ve got to focus on the team. Buy his book!”
—Chip Lutz, president of Unconventional Leadership and former lieutenant commander in the US Navy

“BRAVO Dan Sachs on providing such incredible insights on the roadmaps that guide GREAT Leaders and their organizations. The stories and experiences shared are excellent learning lessons on core values that create terrific companies and cultures, especially as organizations embrace the millennial generation and refocus employee engagement and customer service excellence.”
—Misty M. Johanson, Dean of Driehaus College of Business. DePaul University

“In The Million Dollar Greeting, Dan Sachs taps into the wisdom of some of the most insightful entrepreneurs in the country. Follow their examples, and your customers will love you.”
—Bo Burlingham, Inc. Magazine columnist and author of Small Giants: Companies that Choose to Be Great Instead of Big and Finish Big: How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies On Top

“The Million Dollar Greeting is a compelling study of companies that win through the common characteristics of exceptional leadership and corporate cultures authentically focused on serving customers and inspiring employees. Dan Sachs profiles a diverse group of businesses and discerns patterns and lessons that have applicability to all businesses.”
—Michael Chae, Senior Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer at The Blackstone Group

“Whether your business is in restaurants, hotels, healthcare, or another field, reading The Million Dollar Greeting will make you a more effective leader.”
—Douglas Drachman, MD, FACC, Director at Massachusetts General Hospital and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School

From the Publisher