Includes index.

Bibliography: p. 155-158.

Contents: Customer service: the real competitive edge -- Customer relations mirror employee relations: developing effective human resource practices -- Building the customer-oriented work force: recruiting,hiring and orienting employees -- Establishing and maintaining high standards for customer service -- Effective employee training: making a visible difference for the customer -- Appraising customer service performance: identifying problems and finding solutions -- Motivating and rewarding customer service excellence: the manager's role -- Measuring customer service results -- Long-term customer service excellence: maintaining the competitive edge -- Appendixes: Resources for strenghtening and measuring customer service performance: A: A Job description for a training director -- B: A Sample employee opinion survey -- C: An Exit interview questionnaire -- Examples of customer opinion surveys -- A Sample of an internal client survey -- F: Management climate and leadership effectiveness survey results -- G: Some general management skills suggestion.