Customer What? is definitely one of the best Customer Experience (CX) books I have ever read – and believe me, I have read many of them! Ian Golding promised us something and I feel he over-delivered. The books is just a fantastic guide for CX practitioners, and the description in cover is spot on: The honest and practical guide to customer experience.

It is indeed honest. Ian is absolutely telling the reader what he truly believes is the best approach and practice. As well as sharing what he experimented and used. Those who know Ian (I’m one of those privileged people) can surely “hear is voice” when they’re reading. The way it is written is the exact same way Ian would tell you.

It is surely practical. Ian is not trying to share concepts, beliefs or ideas. He shares some very important principles, for sure, as well as some very good ideas. But above all he is sharing practical actions, tasks, steps – those which have worked for him – and the detail. The biggest chapter is named “Making it happen in practice” and is actually about doing.

Furthermore, the book’s structure and layout is great and really focused on being a practical manual, rather than a book you read once and put in the shelf. There is a notes area in most pages (the only thing preventing you from having it always in your back pocket is the size) and all chapters have 3 sections: Theory, Practice, and Story.

Even there you can see Ian’s character in the book. I’m sure most people (or editors) would say that having personal stories in a book would not be interesting or relevant to the reader. But in this case Ian’s stories are absolutely crucial and spot on, to depict the key points he is making in each section. Just like being in his workshops!

Thank you Ian. Your book has not only taught me a lot, it has also been a fantastic guide and manual whenever I’m supporting my clients and my teams.