Treat Your Customer

June 5, 2006
Miglani, a fortune 500 executive, attributes much of his success to managing his family's Dairy Queen for 21 years. Here, he shares the lessons he learned, including "once in a while, taste your own ice cream," (try out the customer experience) and "check the weather before you order" (study consumer preferences and economic trends). Although the book can be predictable, light-hearted examples, like an illustration of the importance of product consistency using the difficult task of getting the height of an ice cream cone just right, make a refreshing medium for business advice. Unified around his eighth lesson, "never forget the plain old vanilla," Miglani shows how satisfying simple advice in a simple package can be.

May 15, 2006
Here are more business bromides for those who haven't heard them before (or can't get enough). Miglani, who currently works for a Fortune 500 company (he never reveals which), has also apparently put in many an hour behind the counter of his family's ice cream shop serving up sundaes and soaking up management wisdom. The 30 brief chapters into which he divides this book mostly impart all the usual advice (e.g., be nice to people, invest in your employees, love your job, lead by example), but a few stand out (e.g., -Always offer your delivery guys a milkshake - and -When it's time to lean, it's time to clean -). All are couched in terms of the Dairy Queen franchise, providing some insight into the workings of a family ice cream business. Miglani shares his learned bits of wisdom in a humorous, anecdotal style, and the book reads quickly, but there's not much new here. Purchase where there is interest." -Susan Hurst, Miami Univ. Lib., Oxford, OH"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.