Book Brief: Anytime, Anywhere

Anytime, Anywhere: How the Best Bricks-and-Clicks Businesses Deliver Seamless Service to Their Customers
By Robert Spector
Perseus Publishing, February 2002
288 pages, $27

You know the answer without even asking the question: If you ask customers if they want excellent service on the phone, in person or via e-mail, they will answer "yes" every time. That is the simple message here. From the customers' point of view, it doesn't matter if you are talking about the Web site, mail-order catalog, ordering by phone or in person; it's all one store. Spector gives examples of companies large and small that have grappled with the problem of integrating customer service.