Product Description

Down-to-earth, practical, hands-on resource written for customer support executives (and those who depend on them) who want to take their performance to the next level.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #931460 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 191 pages

Review
... an incredible 'how to' guide for IT Executives to understand the power of Customer Support ... blueprint to achieve success. -- Char LaBounty, Founder and President, LaBounty & Associates

Phil Verghis ... just in time with a book that defines exactly what it means to be the 'ultimate' services executive. -- Jeffrey Tarter, Executive Director, Association of Support Professionals

Phil is one of my trusted advisors, and now with this book, he can be yours as well. -- Ron Muns, CEO and Founder, HDI
(World's Largest Association for IT Service & Support) Industry

This book contains both experience and innovation a powerful chemistry. The investment in this book will pay great dividends ... -- Malcolm Fry, IT Industry consultant & luminary

We benefited significantly from Phil's development of a superlative support organization here at Akamai -- George Conrades, Executive Chairman, Akamai Technologies

From the Publisher
If customer support is so critical, why are complaints about customer support at an all-time high? If people buy on price but stay because of service, why are not companies listening to their own customer support teams, the people who know their customers best? How does this flawed approach impact the bottom line?

In his eye-opening new book, The Ultimate Customer Support Executive, global support expert Phil Verghis unveils the secrets of getting and keeping customers for life in this hyper-competitive world. By successfully merging people, processes and technology, Verghis demonstrates how to unleash the power of the customer to propel your company to new levels of success and turbo-charge your career at the same time.

In today's interconnected world, few companies have thought through the implications of providing global support in a holistic way. Verghis, a savvy practitioner and consultant with clients around the world, helps you realize that it is much more than a crucial challenge. It is an incredible opportunity.

The Ultimate Customer Support Executive shows you how to: • Unleash the power of your customer within your organization. • Make customer support more strategic to your business. • Position yourself and your organization for success by enlisting the power of the customer. • Evaluate best practices in people, processes and technologies. • Earn respect from internal colleagues. • How to deal with global customers and manage support teams scattered across the globe. • Think about, and prepare for, outsourcing and offshoring discussions.

In addition to high-level implementation strategies, the book includes provocative thinking about the future of technical support and global support philosophies in the 21st century.

About the Author
Prior to founding the Verghis Group, Phil was the vice president of infrastructure & support at Akamai Technologies and a member of the senior executive 'operations group' that turned the company around in 2003. His leadership of an interdisciplinary team saved the company $33 million on an annualized basis in network Cost of Goods Sold, while network traffic tripled to tens of billions of hits per day. Akamai grew from $4M in annual revenue in 1999 to $161M in 2003.

After starting Akamai's global Customer Care and Service Delivery teams, which handled mission critical lifecycle support for corporate customers around the world, Phil ended up with a broad set of senior management responsibilities. These included running the world's largest distributed IP network 25,000 assets on 15,000 servers in 60 countries. At various points he also was responsible for Account Management, Network Infrastructure, Operations, Production Services (video), Professional Services, Systems Administration (included most of internal IT) and Systems Support.

Phil is a preeminent expert on global service delivery and is the immediate past chairperson of the Strategic Advisory Board of the Help Desk Institute, the largest technical support organization in the world. The HDI Strategic Advisory Board comprises the most prestigious grouping of the service and support industry's leading experts.

Phil has received numerous industry accolades. He is the only two-time winner of Service News' Service 25 award, presented to people who have made a significant impact in the field of service and support. He was also named a Leader and Legend of the support industry for making some of the most notable contributions to the support industry over the last decade. His teams have won a number of international awards for excellence in people, process and technology in the customer support arena.

Prior to Akamai, Phil worked at Duke University, and at the University of New Hampshire. In 1994, when both the Internet and customer relationship management spaces were virtually unknown, Phil started the Help Desk FAQ on the Internet, a valuable resource that continues to draw thousands of visitors every month.

Phil has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering and an MBA, both from the University of New Hampshire.

Customer Reviews

Common Sense Customer Strategies
Phil writes a compelling book for the support executive. It is straight forward and makes you turn your thinking inside out when determining your customer relationship management strategy. It provides a clear and practical guide to creating a strategy for your people, processes, and technology. You can read this book in a weekend and start applying Phil's recommendations the following week. Your entire organization will be a better place if you. This book is thought provoking, but more importantly practical.

Great book
Phil has provided a terrfic handbook of essential tools and messages for the emerging and aspiring customer support leader. Very readable and full of valuable insights.

GREAT READ FOR GOVERNMENT!
Phil has captured and shared the perspective we badly need to get the customer in the center of Government culture. His map to 21st Century customer support is concise, clear, and extremely powerful.