Fellow Allbusiness.com blogger Kevin Stirtz has authored a new book called More Loyal Customers: 21 Real World Lessons To Keep Your Customers Coming Back.

The book is only 81 pages long and while I wouldn't call myself a speed reader, I did finish the book in about 45 minutes.

I believe the book has value to three types of people. First, If you're a senior manager who wants to improve your company's customer service, use the 21 lessons as a checklist to compare your practices against Kevin's suggestions.Then close the gaps.

Second, every retailer ought to have a copy in their stores for new employees. Give them a week to read it at work as part of their training. Then ask them how they will incorporate these lessons into their behavior.

Third, I could have used this book when I first became a retail manager.If you know someone just embarking on their management journey, this book will be useful to them. Even if they don't like to read "businesss" books, this book is short enough to keep their attention.

Each chapter starts with a suggestion called"Kevin's Remarkable Service Tip #___. I found it distracting that the first tip was #3 while the next tip was #34. Perhaps it's because I'm a linear thinker, but I found the numbering distracting.

Two other chapters I liked were at the end. The first, What Real Customers Say About Customer Service, is a bulleted list of answers to the questions, "What is great customer service?" It happens when..., and "What is lousy customer service?" It happens when employees... Answers to both of these could easily be converted to a wall poster and posted in the backroom.

The next to last chapter is actually a list of the 21 lessons and is useful when you want to look at them holistically.

As I write this, Amazon.com is out of stock (Kevin?). But you can't wait, you can purchase it at Kevin's Web site, www.stirtzgroup.com.

Regards,

Glenn