When it comes to surveying customers and employees, there’s good news and bad news.

The good news is, it’s easy and cheap. The bad news is, it’s easy and cheap.

“We want to be The Nordstrom of our industry!”

We have heard this claim made dozens of times over the years, from managers in many lines of business. It’s a fine ambition. But what does it mean?

We’re used to seeing ratings that tell us which companies have the best and worst service. But there has never been a study that compares service quality across cities. Until now.

“Every happy family is the same; unhappy families are unhappy in their own way.” – Tolstoy

Imagine if business, labor and government leaders got together and created an agency to improve customer service across the country. . .

There is a charming little bedtime story that is popular among corporate managers. It goes like this . . .