When the first edition was published in 2005, the customers’ needs were different in a pre-smart phone era, with just the faintest inkling of social media’s importance. Now, Robert Spector has completely recrafted a second edition of the business classic to better serve our customers, who want to learn how Nordstrom has survived and thrived in a challenging economy, and continues to stay on the cutting-edge of delivering the ultimate customer experience today.

This action-oriented handbook contains 75 percent new material, all new chapters, and innovative training exercises and activities. It is available in paperback and eBook. View a free electronic preview through Amazon or iTunes.

PRAISE FOR ROBERT:
“The Nordstrom Way takes an unusual look at the direct link between empowering your employees and creating a long-term sustainable relationship with your customers. More businesses should follow this example.” – Howard Schultz, Chairman and CEO, Starbucks Coffee Company
“Offers lessons on achieving extraordinary customer service born from three decades of Robert Spector’s study of Nordstrom. This book will give you everything you need to take your service culture to the next level. The payoff, as Nordstrom knows, is sustainable profits through the loyalty and evangelism of those you serve!” – Joseph Michelli, PhD, New York Times #1 bestselling author of The Zappos Experience
“Businesses should use this book as a primer on making and keeping happy, satisfied customers.” – J.W. Marriott, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Marriott International

Based on exclusive interviews with investors and former employees who were there at the creation and development of the company, Amazon.com: Get Big Fast provides readers an invaluable look into how Bezos and his team accomplished what they did. It is really the story behind the story.

PRAISE FOR ROBERT:
“You did a good job.” – Jeff Bezos, telling Robert Spector what he thought of Amazon.com: Get Big Fast, when both men were speaking at a business conference in Stockholm, Sweden
“This inspirational rags-to-riches tale will spur on even more entrepreneurs to make their virtual millions.” – The Mirror, London
“Robert Spector tells the Amazon story with exceptional acuity and journalistic flair. This book will be a business history classic.” – Philip Kotler, Professor of International Marketing, J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University

With the backdrop of the growing “buy local” movement across the country, Robert set out to discover the state, and the state of mind, of independent retailing in America. From a specialty soda pop shop in Los Angeles to a florist shop in Dayton, Ohio, from a bakery in Chicago to a bookstore in Bellingham, Washington, mom & pop store owners share their stories, revealing the spirit and tenacity of the small business owner, dealing with frustration and defeat as well as triumph and success.

PRAISE FOR ROBERT:
“There’s a great deal of good journalism in Spector’s book, and it affirms what I’ve long believed: that this kind of small, family business is integral to the American experience.” – Gay Talese
“Spector offers a love letter to American small-business people…his book truly sings when [he] recounts his childhood spent in his family’s butcher shop and the practical wisdom he gleaned at his father’s knee. Cheerful and charming, this is a heartfelt look at life on ‘the other side of the counter.’” – Publishers Weekly
“Every business lesson my dad ever taught me was built around the idea of treasuring every single customer. The resourceful entrepreneurs you’ll meet in this captivating book live by that simple but powerful idea.” – Bruce Nordstrom, chairman emeritus, Nordstrom, Inc.

Written with the input of top Nordstrom management and sales personnel, the book spent 17 weeks on the Business Week Bestseller List, and was nominated for the Booz Allen Hamilton/Financial Times Global Business Award. It has been translated into Japanese, Korean and Mandarin Chinese.

PRAISE FOR ROBERT:
“For anyone looking to understand customer service at its best, this book bubbles with customer service insights.” - Business Week
“Shows how Nordstrom provides a culture that empowers employees and gives them the flexibility to be a company of entrepreneurs.” - USA TODAY
“Highly recommended for any business collection.” – Library Journal

Anytime, Anywhere showcases the pioneering efforts of over a dozen companies who have never stopped focusing on the customer, and who continue to increase their market share by combining the best of the physical and virtual worlds. Wells Fargo, FedEx, and the San Francisco Giants are three of the companies profiled in the book.

PRAISE FOR ROBERT:
“Anytime, Anywhere service has been a long-standing principle of Wells Fargo. Robert Spector has shown how this principle can apply to virtually any business interested in becoming a success in their industry.” – Dick Kovacevich, CEO/Chairman, Wells Fargo
“Spector does the seemingly impossible: explains how to align the channels of your business. This book will enable you to provide the highest level of customer service.” – Guy Kawasaki, author of Rules for Revolutionaries and CEO, Garage Technology Ventures

PRAISE FOR ROBERT:
“Spector has written a series of detail-rich profiles, perfect for reference.” – The Washington Post
“Anyone interested in the future of shopping, from both a business and cultural perspective, will find this book to be a useful primer.” – Publishers Weekly
“Category Killers is thorough, fact-filled, and engaging. It is the best history I have read of the development and ramifications of large-scale retailing.” – Joseph H. Ellis, former partner and head of Retail Research Group, Goldman Sachs
“Robert Spector is America’s preeminent retail historian. Category Killers looks at the evolution of the Big Box store. This book is the most effective dip-stick we have on where we have been and where we might go.” – Paco Underhill, Founder and Managing Director of Envirosell Inc.