A Year in Books/Day 203: Raving Fans

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  • Title: Raving Fans A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service
  • Authors: Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles
  • Year Published: 1993 (William Morrow and Company, Inc.)
  • Year Purchased: 2010
  • Source: An ex-place of employment
  • About: I hate this book. I’m tempted to say that I passionately hate this book, but it’s too ridiculous and poorly written to engender that amount of feeling. If you’re wondering why I’ve kept a book this bad instead of tossing it on a rubbish heap whilst kicking up my heels in glee, I use it as a reminder to work my writing fingers to the bone so I do not have to toil in the corporate world again. Ever, ever again. Ever. Because if I do, I’ll probably have this crap thrown at me a third time. I’m not knocking the premise behind Raving Fans; it is sound-very basic, but sound. The execution, though, is worthless. The single worst passage I’ve read in my entire reading life is in this book. (See below) Honestly, if you can run through 132 pages in 15 minutes while knocking back Scotch in a dark, noisy bar without missing anything, what you are reading is too watered-down. I’ve nothing more to say, except: with all of the motivational, corporate-speak hoo-ha available on an over-sated market, no one should be forced to read this drivel.
  • Motivation: A business I worked for in 2007 was so gung-ho about this program that there were Raving Fans banners everywhere you turned, including in public, customer-frequented spaces. No one listened when I said that if you have to put huge signs up as a reminder to not be dicks to the clients, you’re doing it wrong. Every employee had to read the book and go through official training. Fast forward three years to another company, and repeat.
  • Times Read: 2
  • Random Excerpt/Page 4: “I’m not in touch with reality, the Area Manager thought. “I’ve already gone off the deep end.” “No, you haven’t,” said the stranger, reading the Area Manager’s mind. “Nothing is more real than your Fairy Godmother. You’ll want to remember that.” “You can’t be my Fairy Godmother, ” the Area Manager challenged, “you’re a man.” That obvious fact, he decided, was irrefutable evidence that he was dreaming.” “I know it’s a bit unusual, but I came in on the quota.” “The quota?” “Yes,” confirmed the stranger. “You see, Fairy Godmothering is traditionally a female job and so, under the Celestial Equal Opportunities legislation, the job has been assigned a quota. When I applied I was snapped right up.”
  • Happiness Scale: 1

6 thoughts on “A Year in Books/Day 203: Raving Fans”

    • Yes, and so much more! One of the co-writers*, Ken Blanchard, has supposedly written more than 30 best-selling motivational business books. I’ll never know, because there is no chance of me ever reading another one. One of the reasons I am scared for humanity is that this book actually has a lot of 5 star reviews on Amazon, with a 4.0 average! However, some of the negative reviews are hilarious. My fave excerpt from an Amazon review is: “You will ask yourself one question over and over as you read this book, and that is: “Why did I bother to learn to read?” (Terry Taylor)

      *Yes, it took more than one person to write this awful, awful, awful book.

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      • Ha! “Why did I bother to learn to read?” = fab quote. I can’t believe it received such a high rating! It sounds worse than the abysmal “Who Moved My Cheese?”

        However, I can see why you keep it. I would, too.

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      • I’ve never had to read that cheese book, fortunately. Nor will I ever read it. Raving Fans is all the incentive I need to continue earning a living as a writer, editor and small press publisher. I will never work in the corporate world again.

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