Why Service Matters is a collection of over fifty essays that Raul Pupo asserts will change the way you think about service. What consumers in business, education, and government receive by way of service has gotten progressively worse over time. What is most distressing, however, is that there does not appear to be any cause for optimism that the shoddy service being dished out to consumers will improve any time soon. That is, not unless and until leaders come to grips with the fact that service to the customer is grounded in four critical success factors or foundational propositions: a leadership that unequivocally believes they are in business, first and foremost, to serve the customer; a strategic planning regimen centered on the customer; an ethic of service to guide the organization to always err on behalf of the customer; and a competent, motivated, supported, and empowered front-line organization.

In this book, an entrepreneur and CEO of a major technology company shares original service concepts that will enable any company to keep customers coming back. What distinguishes America's Service Meltdown: Restoring Service Excellence in the Age of the Customer is its striking originality and applicability to businesses of nearly every type and size. Based on the author's extensive personal and professional experience, the book offers a straightforward, no nonsense model that clearly explains how to organize the modern enterprise for the delivery of service excellence. Customer-oriented companies can operate more effectively, Raul Pupo argues, by focusing on the critical success factors of service: leadership that unequivocally believes they are in business to serve the customer; a business-planning process centered around the customer; an organizational ethic of service up and down the ranks; and an empowered, motivated, and competent frontline organization. Readers will discover what it takes to serve customers superbly, how excellent customer service profoundly improves profitability, and how to identify the biggest obstacles to good service. Most importantly, they will be rewarded with concrete instructions that will enable them to deliver topnotch customer service every step of the way.