Service

I'm always a little bit fascinated by the idea of customer service -- of delivering a product in auch a way that the customer is delighted. I like to know what it takes to supply that level of service. I'm also a bit intrigured by what happens when the customer comes to expect that level, but no longer appreciates it. So, when I was in line at the bookstore for something, and saw a book titled Concierge Confidential, with a subtitle that suggested that it talked about exactly that sort of thing, I picked it up, leafed through it, and bought it.

This book is a perfect example of why I should not do that. It's a terrible book. Basically, it's a guide to how to be a poser -- how to toss around famous people's names so that others will do what you want. The author does have a track record in that general industry (if you expand the idea of 'service' to include 'personal toady to powerful Los Angeles film industry people' and 'singer making huge fees on a cruise ship' ), and he does know how to get magical things to happen, but after an hour of reading, and flipping forward ten and fifteen pages at a time, I gave up on it. It just wasn't worth it. I felt somehow soiled by his tips. I just didn't want to know. 

I think I'll go back to Red Cell.