Book excerpt: There is clearly a huge gulf that has been created in the arena of customer service. This gulf exists between what business owners espouse as their customer service philosophies and what customers are actually experiencing in their daily personal and business transactions. What's worse is that this "gulf" appears to be widening, especially with the impact of global operations and sourcing. In The Customer Conundrum, Gary Smith identifies the core issues relating to the customer service gulf, and then gives solid, practical advice on how you can create, maintain, and lead a true customer-centric organization.