How some service firms have become part of “service excellence” folklore An exploratory study David Solnet The University of Queensland, Ipswich, Australia, and Jay Kandampully The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to address the concept of customer advocacy through storytelling, urban legends and folklore. The main purpose of the paper is to identify firms that are frequent subjects of positive customer storytelling, and to examine these firms for common practices. Design/methodology/approach – Following an assessment of various literature, this paper incorporates a two-stage design. The first stage identifies a set of companies that are frequently the subject of customer service storytelling. The second stage takes a grounded theory approach, utilizing a thematic analysis of data collected in relation to the exemplar firms. Findings – Ten exemplar firms were identified. Themes and sub themes were drawn from data about the firms and categorized into ten theme clusters. A single theme – related to customer and employee obsession – was determined to be the common thread. An assessment of customer and employee practices from the exemplar firms is provided to give illustrations of specific practices and beliefs. Practical implications – When customers and non-customers engage in positive dialogue, narrative and storytelling about a business, it is seen as the ultimate marketing outcome. By understanding some of the practices of firms that are subjects of customer service folklore, managers can gain insights into how customer and employee treatment strategies can be incorporated into their businesses. Originality/value – Storytelling and myths have been examined (and utilised) from the perspective of organizational culture, communication and change – but rarely from the perspective of customer-to-customer communications. Keywords Storytelling, Postmodernism, Best practice, Services Paper type Research paper Introduction Customer-to-customer advocacy through “word-of-mouth” (WOM) communication can have a profound influence on customer attitudes and purchasing behaviour (Brown et al., 2000; John, 1994). Indeed, WOM communication has been described by Mangold et al. (1999, p. 73) as a “dominant force in the marketplace”, and Reichheld (2003) has argued that a crucial issue for any company is whether customers are willing to recommend the firm’s products or services to their friends and acquaintances. Moreover, Keiningham et al. (2007) stress the importance of balancing and managing the various aspects of the customer experience simultaneously if firms are to optimise the loyalty behaviours they desire from their customers. The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0960-4529.htm “Service excellence” folklore 179 Managing Service Quality Vol. 18 No. 2, 2008 pp. 179-193 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0960-4529 DOI 10.1108/09604520810859229