• Fast Company, Wednesday, March 10, 2010 11:04 AM

Micah Solomon, co-author of Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit: The Secrets of Building a Five-Star Customer Service Organization and president of Oasis Disc Manufacturing pulls together some offbeat but eminently useful suggestions for 21st Century customer service that are laced with real-word examples.

The first is to make sure "your doorknobs sparkle." The example is a gift shop in Bar Harbor, Maine, that goes against the grain by welcoming customers bearing food and pets. Shoppers are greeted by a sign that says, "YES: Your Ice Cream Cones Are Welcome (just be careful of the drips) ... And We Love Your Dogs, Too!"

Another tip suggests that you make sure that your customers can connect to real people -- with full names - online or off. Netflix has been doing this lately, with an 800 service staffed domestically despite having a very good Web site. Why? "Netflix realized that to maintain competitive advantage they needed to bind themselves to their customers," Solomon writes. "So they're creating the warm, personal, human connections that produce customer loyalty."

Read the whole story at Fast Company »