The Apple Experience: Secrets to Building Insanely Great Customer Loyalty by Carmine Gallo Read Free Book Online Page B

include many more strong people than toadies.” 7 Don’t hire toadies. Hire fearless employees instead.

Fearless Employees Take Ownership
     
    What does fearlessness look like on the sales floor? In a word—ownership. You’ll notice something on the Apple sales floor that is highly unusual in other retailers. If you approach an employee with a problem or question, the employee must own the problem and see that you are cared for. This tactic rarely happens anywhere else. I once approached a friend who looked very tired and agitated. She had just returned from a “big box” electronics retailer to buy a wireless router. “I’m furious,” she said. “I stood there for ten minutes and four different people—four people—all told me that ‘it’s not my department.’ They literally just walked away leaving me to figure it out for myself.” This would never happen in an Apple Store, and it would never happen in a Four Seasons. Both brands hire friendly, but fearless employees who take ownership of the problem and will not let it rest until the customer gets resolution. Cowardly employees will pass the buck. Fearless employees ask for help if they don’t have the answers. A fearless employee owns the relationship from beginning to end. No obstacle will get in the way of creating a satisfying relationship between the customer and the brand.
    Apple, your products are expensive and your shops a bit weird, but I love your customer service.
    —John S.

Don’t Ask What Steve Would Do, Do What Is Right
     
    Fearless employees do the right thing for the customer, and they do right for the team. Shortly before his death, Steve Jobs said he didn’t want Apple employees to ask, “What would Steve do?” Instead he wanted them to do what’s right. Former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona agrees with that philosophy. “I really care about having an atmosphere where my players care about doing the right thing,” 8 Francona said shortly after leading the Red Sox to the World Series Championship in 2004, the first time the club had won a World Series in eighty-six years. “For me it would be silly to walk around like a drill sergeant,” said Francona. Instead Francona cultivated a clubhouse culture where, despite some big egos, players understood the ultimate direction of the team, respected each other, and were confident about doing what’s right for the team instead of gratifying their own egos. The players respected their coach and were fiercely loyal to each other on the field.
    When you create an atmosphere where good players want to do the right thing—in retail or in sports—it doesn’t guarantee that you will win “the championship,” but it will guarantee that you are putting your team in the best position to win.

A Fearless Fit
     
    The clothing store chain Men’s Wearhouse has fostered what it calls a “fearless and energized workplace.” During a one-day trip to Los Angeles to meet with a client, an
ABC News
producer called me unexpectedly to schedule an important interview that would air on a national program. I had not packed a suit or a tie for this trip, and I really felt like the topic required more formal attire. So I did what thousands of other men must have done that day—dropped into a Men’s Wearhouse to buy some nice-fitting clothes that look good without breaking the bank. I purchased two coats and two ties, all while the car was waiting outside. The driver didn’t have to wait long. It took all of fifteen minutes from the time I entered the store.
    As soon as I walked into the store I talked to the first salesperson I saw, Sam. I told Sam my predicament, and Sam, being afearless employee, said, “I don’t even have to measure you. You’re a 42 regular. Come this way. I know exactly what you need.” Sam realized we didn’t have time for small talk. His goal was to satisfy the customer and to make him look his best, all in fifteen minutes.
    The Men’s Wearhouse hires for