The route John DiJulius took to become an authority on world-class service began in the least likely of places: a small hair salon in Cleveland.

Due to his obsession with the customer experience, the establishment quickly expanded  to multiple locations, becoming one of America’s top 20 salons.

Today, companies such as Ritz-Carlton, Lexus, and Starbucks come to him for insights on improving the customer experience.

In this episode of the CUNA News Podcast, DiJulius explains how the right member experience can create a competitive advantage and how to connect with people in an increasingly digital world.

He also provides insights from his new book, “The Relationship Economy.”

DiJulius will address the 2019 CUNA CEO Council Conference Sept. 23-25 in Coronado, Calif.

You can listen and subscribe to the CUNA News Podcast in Apple’s iTunes Store, Spotify, Google Play, and Stitcher Radio.

In this episode:

3:14: Gauging companies’ service effectiveness

4:50: What he means by “beat the greets”

5:59: Where credit unions can fall short on service

7:34: How to connect with members in a digital environment

10:01: Signs your service isn’t what it should be

11:23: How the right customer experience can provide a competitive advantage

15:09: Insights from “The Relationship Economy”

18:42: The importance of F.O.R.D.

20:00: Favorite quotes about customer service

21:05: Favorite business book he didn’t write