Best Face Forward

This book essentially makes two observations.
First, what counts increasingly in the modern economy is not what you sell, but how you sell it. The question of the interface between a company and its customers is thus increasingly central, and is now one of the leading differentiation factors.
Second, concerning the customer interface, major technological revolutions have deeply changed the rules of the game. Machines can now be entrusted with tasks that only humans could hitherto perform, enabling the delocalization of many functions. The time is near when to order a meal in a restaurant, we will have the choice between typing at an automated terminal and speaking with a representative in a call center in India!
The main ideas of the book are summarized in chapter 3, which should be consulted first by readers in a hurry. Chapter 6, devoted to the art of combining the skills of humans and machines to design an optimal interface, is also a must read. The rest of the book offers less innovative ideas, and pressed readers may simply consult the key ideas listed at the end of each chapter. Conversely, the innumerable examples cited, from the QVG teleshopping channel (chapter 7) to the Four Seasons hotel chain (chapter 4), not to mention Nordstrom, Sears and NeverLost, provide a handy catalog of do’s and don’ts.