(JULY 15, 2009 – Newton Centre, MA) In today’s sputtering economy, where every company needs every customer they can get, properly managing those who are demanding and complaining can mean the difference between staying afloat and closing the doors. A local residential builder, The Green Company, caught the attention of metro Detroit authors Lori Jo Vest and Marilyn Suttle. The two have written “Who’s Your Gladys? How to Turn Even The Most Difficult Customer Into Your Biggest Fan,”and are preparing for its international release in September of 2009. AMACOM Books of New York will publish the book, which focuses on managing business relationships with challenging customers. McGraw-Hill Publishing will handle international distribution of “Who’s Your Gladys?”
“We researched companies that had a reputation of exceptional customer service and The Green Company was suggested to us by someone who knew about their excellent reputation,” commented Vest. “They were number one in customer satisfaction in the homebuilding industry in 2007. We learned that a very high percentage of their homeowners refer their families and friends to The Green Company after purchasing a home in one of their communities. This company and its executives – including their CEO David Caligaris – shared openly with us and their story became a chapter in the book. The Green Company provides a model for longterm customer relationships. Everything they do – from managing the early planning stages of homebuying to making sure their communities have strong social networks – is done with their customers’ best interests in mind.”
The Green Company was founded in 1953 by Alan Green, who is still actively involved as chairman of the company. Company headquarters are located in Newton Centre, Massachusetts.
“Who’s Your Gladys?” shares real world stories and strategies from ten companies in a variety of industries, all of which have exceptional customer service. It is targeted to both front-line employees and their management. Featured organizations include Singapore Airlines, Sky Lakes Medical Center, Paul Reed Smith Guitars, ISCO Corporation, Communicore Visual Communications, Professional Movers, ClearVision Optical and the Jack Canfield Companies.
Who’s Gladys? “She’s the poster child for difficult, vocal customers,” explained Suttle. “With social media and all of the new technology available to consumers these days, if Gladys isn’t happy, she can quickly text, twitter and tell thousands of people about it. Our book will show readers how to manage any Gladys properly so that she tells everyone how happy she is. Once she’s getting what she needs, she can become a vocal advocate and make a huge difference in your company’s sales.”
Marilyn Suttle is the founder and president of Suttle Enterprises, a personal and professional growth training firm in the metropolitan Detroit area. She is a frequent television news guest on Detroit ABC affiliate WXYZ’s Financial Survival Series with Bill Spencer, and immediate past president of the National Speakers Association, Michigan chapter. Her relationship-based emotion management expertise has made her a repeat trainer for Fortune 500 companies like Pfizer, and Ford Motor Company. Lori Jo Vest has twenty years of relationship-based sales and currently serves as managing director of Communicore Visual Communications, a Birmingham, Michigan-based television production studio that is financially stable, in spite of the region’s struggling economy.
For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Marilyn Suttle at 248.348.1023. Marilyn can also be reached via email at [email protected].
BOOK DETAILS: WHO’S YOUR GLADYS?: How to Turn Even the Most Difficult Customer into Your Biggest Fan (AMACOM; September 2009; $22.95 Hardcover; 978-0-8144-1439-2) by Marilyn Suttle and Lori Jo Vest.