The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service Excellence: A Handbook for Implementing Great Service in Your Organization: Includes Training Activities and Resources »

ROBERT SPECTOR is a bestselling business book author and international speaker on Nordstrom's principles of customer service. He has spoken to companies such as Cadillac, Dell, Wells Fargo, and the Red Cross. He has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Women's Wear Daily. To book Robert as a speaker, visit www.robertspector.com.

PATRICK McCARTHY worked at Nordstrom for more than thirty years and was the company's all-time top-performing salesperson.

In a guide including training activities and resources, Spector (a business writer) and McCarthy (who was a top Nordstrom's salesman for many years) trace this successful retailer's history and present stories of Nordstrom's legendary customer service ethic. The authors do address the occasional downside of the store's liberal return policy. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Library Journal

Nordstrom's has long had the reputation for outstanding customer service. This book, coauthored by one of Nordstrom's top sales associates, McCarthy, tells how Nordstrom's earned that reputation. The work combines case studies and personal narrative with some history of the store. Each chapter helps the reader see one or more aspects of what has made Nordstrom's so successful, for example, "The Nordstrom Culture: Setting Employees Free," "The Art of Selling: Retailing Is a Contact Sport," and "What's Inside: Creating an Inviting Place." Each chapter is followed by a one- to two-page summary of the important points. Highly recommended for any business collection.-Michael D. Kathman, St. John's Univ. Lib., Collegeville, Minn.