After college, Ross Shafer blew his savings on what he was sure would be the "next big thing." He invested everything he had (and lost it) in "SOUNDS OK, America's Only Stereo and Pet Shop." Business failures aside, Ross Shafer started getting laughs at comedy clubs, and his first big break came when he won Showtime's "Comedy Laugh Off" in 1983. Soon Ross Shafer began to open shows for Dionne Warwick, Eddie Rabbitt, Crystal Gayle, Neil Sedaka, and other famous people with good voices.

Within a year, Ross Shafer was hosting KING-TV's weekly comedy/talk show, "Almost Live." With Ross Shafer at the helm, the show won 36 Emmy Awards and the prestigious IRIS award for the "Best Local Entertainment Series" in the United States. It was also during his time at "Almost Live" that Ross actually created Bill Nye, The Science Guy!

Over the next several years, Ross Shafer hosted a daily afternoon radio program, contributed to Dick Clark's "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes," hosted the USA Network's game show, "Love Me, Love Me Not," wrote and produced two comedy TV specials, and had a recurring role on the hit show "21 Jump Street." Ross Shafer moved on to become host of Fox's flagship late night program (cleverly titled "The Late Show"), which competed against Johnny Carson and David Letterman.  During this time, Ross Shafer continued to work on his stand-up act and regularly performed for the Improv, Comic Strip Live, the A List, and eventually moved on to a nightly ABC entertainment magazine that he co-hosted with Matt Lauer and Spencer Christian. One of his most proud entertainment achievements was the successful run as host of ABC-TV's "New Match Game." The show still plays every morning on the Game Show Network.

Surprising, but true, Ross Shafer is also a published author. He practically invented the genre of comedy cookbooks with Cook Like A Stud, featuring 38 recipes men can prepare in the garage using their own power tools. He also wrote Nobody Moved Your Cheese! - How to Ignore the Experts and Trust Your Gut and his latest book, The Customer Shouts Back – If You Want Lifetime Customers, Listen to their Emotional Solution, which is the culmination of Ross Shafer's 11 years as a writer and producer of human resource training films. Ross Shafer recently founded the Customer Empathy Institute™ because he's convinced the reason customer service hasn't improved, is because we haven't tried to understand the customer's emotional state before, during, and after the transaction.  In his newest book, Are You Relevant? Twelve Reasons Smart Organizations Thrive in Any Economy (published Jan. 2009), Ross shares his insights from working with dozens of successful companies, across many industries, and offers directives for thriving in ANY economy.

Corporate and association audiences have become fascinated by Ross Shafer's story of "Failed Pet Shop Manager, turned Network TV Host."  Nowadays, he is in demand as a keynote speaker, seminar leader and event emcee. His clean, funny and relevant programs have made more than 3,000 meeting planners look like heroes and he's worked with dozens of companies that span various industries, such as Microsoft, Toyota, Safeway, Nordstrom, GE, Pfizer, Xerox, Verizon, Blue Cross, Wells Fargo, Ernst & Young, Allstate, Federal Express, as well as a slew of professional associations. When you book Ross Shafer for your event, your audience is guaranteed to laugh, see their business in a new way, be inspired to trust their gut and fulfill their own potential.

Ross Shafer's Topics:

Customer Experience

Are You Relevant?

This is the one question that should keep your organization up at night. They used to call it "change," but change is too slow a word in this volatile and unpredictable economy. As a top keynote speaker and trainer, Ross has had a back stage pass to both the best practices...and the worst. He has seen who's failing...and more importantly who's succeeding. Organizations that succeed keep reinventing themselves to respond to the culture shifts in buying habits and human behavior. In his upcoming book (due out in early 2009) Ross shares his insights from working with dozens of successful companies, across many industries, and offers directives for thriving in ANY economy.

KEYNOTE POINTS:

       1. Customer “service” is a dead-end because service is merely transactional...not emotional. You will learn why customer empathy is the only predictor of loyalty and repeat business.

       2. Complacency is your enemy. What worked last year will not be relevant this year. You will learn the best ways to continue innovating and keep your practices fresh.

       3. The “Experience Economy” demands you be an extension of your clients’ brands ...and their future brand. You'll learn how to become a trusted advisor instead of merely a vendor.

       4. Your market research probably needs an overhaul. Your efforts need to be more relevant to the people who are filling out your surveys or taking your phone calls.

       5. You'll learn why superstar organizations refuse to participate in the recession and how they are able to thrive while others are complaining about a bad economy.

       6. The Millennial generation wants something from you...which is very different from what the Boomers expected. Learn how they think, what they want, and how their needs are shifting.

Inspirational/Human Resources

NOBODY MOVED YOUR CHEESE!

Ross says, “Success is your own fault. We shouldn’t look outside ourselves for quick answers or easy motivational formulas.” This is a program about Accountability and taking Personal Responsibility for your own success. Ross was a small town pet store manager whose dream was to become a network talk show host like his idol, Johnny Carson. In less than 6 years of focused effort, his dream came true when he was named host of the Fox Late Show – where he competed head-to-head in the late night wars against Johnny Carson and David Letterman. In this program you’ll learn: 1) Why the world needs focused experts like you. 2) How to exploit your hidden talents. 3) How to tap into the enthusiasm of your coworkers. 4) How to get your customers to accelerate your career, for you. 5) How to Self-Motivate by example.

Change Part 1

THE CUSTOMER EMPATHY™ SOLUTION Part I

Ross says, “Ordinary customer service doesn’t work in a Post 911 economy. It’s Customer Empathy™ – the art of understanding the customer’s emotional state before, during, and after the transaction that will insure long term growth and loyalty.” After dissecting 1,000 random customer complaints in 2004 and 2005, Ross wrote the books, “The Customer Shouts Back!” and “Customer Empathy™” to depict how dramatically the customer’s expectations have changed in recent years. Ross discovered that the customer isn’t always right. But, they are always vulnerable. According to Ross, “Emotions drive every purchase transaction – not price or location.” In this program, you’ll learn exactly how to implement Customer Empathy™; as well as the Top Changes you need to make to win your customer’s long term loyalty. You’ll also see numerous examples of organizations that are experiencing record profits by using these principles.

Change Part 2

THE CUSTOMER EMPATHY™ SOLUTION Part II

This is a great follow up to Part I - Same point of view but with - New Stories - New Case Studies - More Inside Customer Psychology. Funny and plenty of audience Interaction.

Customer Loyalty

UNCONVENTIONAL THINKING:

The Masters Course

TV host, HR film Producer, and Keynote favorite, Ross has discovered very early that nobody ever made big things happen by following conventional wisdom. "Unconventional wisdom has NO competition," says Ross. Ross cites how he invented Bill Nye, The Science Guy...and won Esquire Magazine's "Dubious Achievement Award" as examples of swimming against the tide into a blue ocean of opportunity.

KEYNOTE POINTS:

       1. Take a skeptical look at who's telling you to avoid taking intellectual risks...and why?

       2. Can the "market leaders" in your industry move as quickly as you can?

       3. Being unconventional will have the press banging on your door in the middle of the night.

       4. Unconventional wisdom prevents you from promoting your competition's brand.

       5. Why YOU should be the president of your own fan club

Motivation

MASTERFUL MC

Ross is available for a limited number of multi-day conference hosting duties. Because of his talk and game show experience, Ross is the perfect moderator for events that feature A-List Celebrity guests...or your top level executive panel discussions. Ross is comfortable asking the tough questions in a way that is disarming, funny, and insightful. He has led interviews and Q & A for such luminaries as Jack Welch, Senator Bob Dole, Queen Noor of Jordan, Rev. Al Sharpton, James Carville, Henry Winkler, Super Execs. Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan, Rap Mogul Russell Simmons, George Will, Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman...and dozens of others. You can trust your event will be on time, on target, and energized with Ross at the helm.