By Mark Ambrogi
Jim Serger was so moved by the treatment he received from Nebo Ridge Bicycles that he wrote a book about it.
“The business gave me such great service I had to tell the world,” Serger said. “It’s not every day a consumer writes a business book.”
Serger, a Carmel resident, details the story of how Carmel’s Nebo Ridge Bicycles, 4335 W. 106th St., helped him prepare to do a bicycle ride to Florida to honor a friend battling cancer. Serger said the shop took time to get know him and his needs and in return got a customer for life.
Serger’s book “2000 Miles on Wisdom” will be published on Jan. 15. It has been available for pre-order on Red Bike Publishing. On Jan. 15, it will also be available through Amazon and Red Bike Publishing and will be available on Kindle.
The book has been endorsed by six New York Times business bestseller authors and the vice president of Walt Disney World.
“Customer service is almost common sense,” Serger said. “Be cordial, be understanding, be friendly. Shake hands, say hello, speak to people on a first-name basis. Follow up. It’s all common-sense attributes, but it’s very hard for people to keep doing it day in and day out, day in and day out. When you do that, you separate yourself from the good to the great.”
Serger said that is what Nebo Ridge employees did so he was compelled to tell the story.
“It’s a simple steps of bonding with your customer, product knowledge, leadership from the top down,” Serger said, “You’ll find that from the smallest employee to the owner of the shop. I was a returning customer who bought a bicycle for my daughter. We were a loyal customer at the end because of excellent customer service. They put people first before money and that’s basically what the book is about.”
Serger said he probably won’t write another book on customer service, but could see himself writing a business book.
“I do see myself writing another book or two or three,” Serger said. “Writing is for all to dabble with and all to consider. People say I’m not a business owner, I’m not an Harvard professor. You don’t have to be any of those to write a book. You’ve got to get over the fear of writing a book and start writing a story. Everybody has a story to tell. Everybody has been through something others can learn from.”
Serger previously wrote a book, “Go the Distance” about saving his relationship with his father, who had battled alcoholism.
