This is the 5th anniversary of Metro Bank in London. The results after 5 years are incredible, proving that customer service is worth its weight in gold in every country in the world. Click here to read more about how Metro Bank is built around customer service.

In my last entry, I looked at investments I made in nine distinct companies more than a decade ago and analyzed the returns on those investments based on each company’s customer service record. When all was said and done, it was clear that the companies that maintained exceptional cultures of customer service yielded far better investment returns than those that did not.

In May 2003 I invested $9,000 ($1,000 ea.) in 9 service leaders. Today this investment is worth $34,363. I wanted to prove that service leaders continue to grow because they focus on the service strategy.  Hard to understand the reasoning why CEO’s do not focus on a service strategy.   Probably because they do not understand how it impacts market share, brand and the value of the business.  Following is proof that a service culture will increase the value of a firm by over 25%.  Take a look:

In my last entry, I compared the customer service strategies and standards of two wholesale retail giants – Sam’s Club and Costco. When all was said and done, thanks to Costco’s remarkable attention to detail, extensive market research, and clearly-defined target market, the Washington-based retail chain came out on top.

So many articles have been written on shopping at a warehouse or wholesale club like Sam’s Club and Costco. An article I recently read was written in 2012 and it asked why in the world would anyone shop at a place where they never advertise, have no signs in its aisles, don’t bag what you purchase and charges you a fee just to walk in the door?