Rating: 
Summary: Raving Fans
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. It is an easy read and contains some great fundamentals on providing excellent customer service. Readers who enjoy this book may also enjoy reading Time Management is an Oxymoron.
Rating: 
Summary: Fluffy
Review: Way too fluffy. It should have been presented as a bulleted list, not a book. If you must get this book, I recommend the print version; Charlie's voice is quite annoying.
Rating:
Summary: IT Professionals should read this NOW
Review: The new Area Manager is wondering on what could be done to retain his customers and his job. Just then a fairy godmother "Charlie" appears and takes him around to businesses that create raving fans through exemplary customer service. Let us take the case of a visit to a departmental store. Our Area Manager is looking for a book to be gifted to this wife on her birthday. Upon arrival he and Charlie are greeted by the sales staff who pin a complimentary white carnation on their suits. The store has a superb play area for children. The rest rooms are glittering and the towels are neat and crisp. The book he is looking for is not available at this store but the lady at the books section dispatches her assistant to procure it from a neighboring shop, gift wraps it and hands it over to her customer - at no extra cost. Our Area Manager is amazed. How can they afford to do this? Pat comes the reply from the man who runs the business - How can you afford NOT to do this?.
Charlie takes our Area Manager for golf in between visits to several such places of excellence. They come up with three simple but important principles to create RAVING FANS. This book applies to all businesses. Take the case of the IT industry. Technocrats who focus more on technology than on their customers staff this industry. Till recently, thanks to the global shortage of well-trained professionals in this area, a streak of arrogance and sharp edges were common traits. "We are knowledge Workers - Stock Options and hefty salaries are our birthright" was a common belief in this tribe. Suddenly, the IT industry finds itself swamped by competition and surplus people. Many companies whose stock prices pierced the roof a couple of years ago find themselves in Chapter 11. Customers have won again. They now exercise their choice and demand value for money- not just tech talk by smart yuppies. As in any other industry, only those companies that ensure stellar customer service at all levels of the Organization will be able to succeed. To all those who need to understand these core values I recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Perhaps too simplistic, but helpful
Review: Raving Fans is helpful in making you step back and think about your customer's wants and how to best address them. Told in the form of a novel, an "area manager" is visited by his fairy god-mother "Charlie" who proceeds to provide him with examples of "Raving Fan" service. This is then applied to his own job and the unique challenges the area manager faces daily with providing customer service.
Though not all the ideas in "Raving Fans" seem plausible or reasonable, it atleast draws the reader into asking the questions that all good managers should ask. What would Raving Fan service be in my business or organization? How would I know when we are providing "raving fan" service?
Not a heaveyweight book on management, it is never the less a good means of stepping back and asking the big questions about customer service. Not a bad book to give to managers to read and evaluate their own organization.
Rating:
Summary: A quick read towards better service
Review: I was given this book several years ago and read it a few times. I gave it to a client and have missed my copy so I will be buying another copy. Sure, the examples such as the service station and grocery store scenarios are simplistic and may be unrealistic, but they make you think about how you could improve your business. I have conducted my business on the principles in the book and I see the positive growth. Every business should have this book and make it available to every employee.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a "Raving Fan" of the book
Review: Like other Blanchard books, this one presents its ideas in the form of a "novel." I guess because I read so much fiction (by authors who can WRITE), I have a hard time getting through these books. There are lots of lazy habits in the story-telling and even though RAVING FANS is incredibly short, it still feels like a slog getting through it. One example: one just one short page, two different characters have lines of dialogue, followed by "he laughed." As in, "'I never thought of that,' he laughed." Not many people laugh their words. They may say something and THEN laugh. Once or twice in a book it's okay, but twice on ONE PAGE!! The main character who is learning about the "raving fan" concept is "the area manager." It gets really annoying having him refered to in this manner from front to back. Would it really have hurt to give him a name? The darn "fairy godmother" has a name, after all.
But, the book is supposed to present business ideas, right? Well, it does this a little better than it tells a compelling story. The over-arching point is that "satisfied customers" aren't good enough anymore, because they are largely putting up with lousy service, but have simply come to expect and accept it. That's actually a simple but powerful idea. How many times do we all just take mediocrity as status quo? The idea that actually taking the trouble to please our customers...to SHOCK them into recognized they are being treated remarkably well and will in turn "rave" about this to others is compelling in its simplicity.
Because of the storytelling device of the book, some of the examples given of how to apply this are oversimplistic and not completely believable. Valet parking at a grocery store? I'm sure people WOULD rave about it...but with the margins at grocery stores, could they really afford a team of parkers?
So, from a business standpoint, the book gets a thumbs-up. From a readability standpoint, I have to give a thumbs down.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting ideas and a quick easy read.
Review: This is a quick and easy book to read. The concepts presented in this book to improving Customer Service is very possible. The ideas presented is interesting and really makes me aware how I have been "just satisfied" with all the bad customer service all around us. Ken gets his points across by using short events and dialogs between the characters. However, the short events, products, etc... seems to be too fantasy and very fictional. I would have been more convinced if he had used real life examples. The concepts presented, however, are very logical and very implementable.
Rating:
Summary: Customer is the King
Review: A customer is the King. Decide what you want to give to the customer, Find out their needs and expectations, Foresee how you can fulfil their requirements - The main theme of this book perfectly teaches the Customer Approach. Raving Fans of Ken Blanchard love to read all his Books coz of his Innovative ideas and writing skills. I love all Ken's Reads and this one is no exception as it has all inspirational, encouraging, innovative and satisfying techniques to build better Customer Relationships. This book has proven techniques as it covers on 'After-service' facilities too and for a Corporate Insurance Executive & Advisor like me, I feel people sort for not only Service but also 'After sales Service' which builds a strong rapport with the customer and a long term, beneficial relationship, floating in more references therein. I heard a Doctor who had his Sonography Machines worth more than a 50 lacs insured but could not get the claim inspite of paying premiums only because the Company had waved off old machines and the new hubs cost him grand. The customer service is failed by Agent due to Govt. Insurance companies and in such cases, I guess it is worth a deal to strike with new better Insurance companies with affiliations. Hence, Ken's book is all about effective system and playing role as serving with style to create revolution at workplace and fetch in good business. Every Executive should read and follow Ken Blanchard's techniques and remember that Customers are not Satisfied anymore but require 'Service' and that is most important. Experiences leads to perfection with practical tips of Ken. A good pick.
Rating: 
Summary: Fictional Management
Review: The book starts off on a positive note. The author notes the modern generalization that good service in any business is no longer expected. Then, it takes a turn for the worse. The rediculous examples are insulting to anyone with an IQ above 100.
The pervasive concepts contradict the work of Michael Porter on generic business strategies. You simply cannot be the service and quality leader and also be the cost leader. The worst example is the gas station where they will clean your windows, check your fluids, and generate small talk. All of this while maintaining a lower labor cost than the self serve station down the street. I know one of them actually owned service stations with a similar model in Canada, but I suspect other factors were in force.
I don't think it's worth the time reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Fluffy
Review: Way too fluffy. It should have been presented as a bulleted list, not a book. If you must get this book, I recommend the print version; Charlie's voice is quite annoying.
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