Who Comes First? "The Customer Comes Second" is an account of the management and leadership style of Hal Rosenbluth, chief executive officer (CEO) of Rosenbluth International, a global travel management company which was founded in 1892 by Marcus Rosenbluth, Hal's great-grandfather. The premise of Hal Rosenbluth's management style is just as the title of the book suggests; focus on your employees first and your customers second. I found the management practices outlined by Mr. Rosenbluth to be innovative and applicable to all types of businesses, not just the travel industry. I was also very intrigued by some of the creative employment practices used by Rosenbluth International and their struggle to survive in the travel industry following the tragic events of September 11, 2001 (9/11) (Rosenbluth, Prologue xi). Most of the book focuses on the process of hiring good people, treating them well, and letting their love and dedication for their company translate into top-notch customer service. The idea of ​​putting employees first seems simple enough, however in today's business environment it's easy to get caught up in traditional metrics of business success and lose sight of caring for a company's most important asset, its people. It all starts with hiring the right people, and the book outlines some great strategies for doing just that. Rosenbluth says the most important approach to hiring is finding nice people. Their selection process focuses on looking for kind, caring, compassionate, and altruistic people over people with impressive resumes who advertise multiple degrees, years of experience, and impressive salary histories. It is customary for Rosenbluth International to interview... middle of paper... finding good people and treating them well is nothing new. In fact, if you were to ask ten successful CEOs of one company what their recipe for success was, all ten would probably mention the importance of finding good people and treating them right. The Customer Comes Second was a great book because it gave real life examples and anecdotes of HOW to follow the philosophy of putting employees first and the customer second. The company's success after the September 11 tragedy gives substance and merit to Hal Rosenbluth's philosophies. He doesn't just tell his ideas; explains how to make them work and then backs it up with an incredible success story at a time when most travel management companies have ceased to exist. Works Cited Rosenbluth, Hal F. and Diane McFerrin Peters. The customer comes second.New York: HarperCollins, 1992, 2002.