I have to admit that I'm not that big of a sports fan.  I'll go to see just about anything fro jai alai to zebra races, but it's seldom that I will sit down and actually watch an event on TV.  That is, except for the Olympics. I think my attraction to the games is that these are people from throughout the world who have dedicated it all for this event.  It doesn't matter if you are a snowboarder like Shaun White, or speed skater like Apolo Anton Ono. They have trained for years, given up everything, for one purpose -- to take a medal at this event. And, I'm not even touching on the sacrifices your family makes for you.  Some athletes have one shot at a medal.  If something doesn't go their way, they are out of luck until the next competition.  Their hopes, dreams, fears, and aspirations are all wrapped up into their performance at this event, in this moment. Building exceptional customer service skills does have some parallels with the Olympics, too.  You can't just take a class or read a book and become an expert.  It takes years of practicing the skills you acquire along the way, from classes, interactions with customers, and yes, sometimes books to become a "champion" at building loyalty. Remember this when you are looking at your team's performance when it comes earning customer loyalty medals.  To win the gold, you need to stay the course, and practice, practice, practice. So, what's your medal count? Be sure to stop by our other web sites for additional information and ideas about building customer loyalty: The Service Quality Department ServiceQuality.US ServiceQuality.CA ServiceQuality.co.UK ServiceQuality.CN High Definition Mystery Shopping