Nice to meet you.
We hate to brag, but this is one resourceful, adept group. However, all the awards, education and experiences would mean nothing if we didn’t all work together as well as we do.
SERVICE MANAGEMENT GROUP, INC. (SMG) is a forward-thinking, progressive company with a family feel where attitude is as important as expertise. The employees are intelligent, show initiative and like challenges. SMG exists to measure customer and employee experience. We are industry experts who are different because of our full-service research and consulting. Referrals and relationships are important in getting and maintaining clients at SMG. Retaining employees, growing the company, and celebrating often are top of mind.
Andy Fromm
President/CEO
Andy founded Service Management Group with Bill Fromm and Leonard Schlesinger in 1991 and has worked with over 200 multi-unit retail and restaurant brands. In addition to his work with clients, he contributed to two business books, The Ten Commandments of Business & How to Break Them by Bill Fromm; and, The Real Heroes of Business — and Not a CEO Among Them. Andy has served as an expert contributor in the area of customer service and satisfaction measurement to media such as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Fast Company.
Prior to founding the Service Management Group in 1991, Andy worked for the consulting firm American Management Systems (AMS) in its Boston office. Andy graduated with distinction from Boston University and was elected Phi Beta Kappa. Andy is passionate about his family, fitness, and improving the community through his service on the board of the Kansas City Zoo.
Bill Fromm
Co-Founder, Senior Consultant
A nationally-known expert in strategic planning and customer service, Bill co-founded SMG and created the marketing firm Barkley Evergreen & Partners. Bill’s client roster represents retail, fast food, business-to-business, franchise operations, telecommunications products and automotive aftermarket. Bill was named Inc. Magazine’s Regional Entrepreneur of the Year in 1995. He is the author of two books on customer service, "The Ten Commandments of Business and How To Break Them" and "The Real Heroes of Business and Not a CEO Among Them," co-authored with Leonard Schlesinger. Bill has appeared on both the Today Show and the Oprah Winfrey Show and was featured on a segment produced by CBS’ 48 Hours on customer service. He is a graduate of Northwestern University.
Chris Egan
Chief Operating Officer
Chris is responsible for SMG's client facing organizations, and he is a thought leader in SMG's strategy, new business development, and marketing efforts.
Prior to joining SMG, Chris was a Principal at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). As a core member of BCG's Consumer practice, Chris primarily advised consumer retail, restaurant, and packaged goods companies and pursued functional areas of focus including strategy, service models, customer experience, consumer insight, and pricing across numerous retail formats. Prior to BCG, Chris was a Senior Brand Strategist at Intel. He holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.
Mary Widmer
Chief Strategic Officer
Mary is responsible for resource planning, forecasting and all financial aspects of the company. She also directs SMG's strategic Human Resource initiatives and leads the company's administrative team. Prior to joining SMG as Chief Strategic Officer, Mary was a partner in a CPA firm where she provided management, tax and accounting consulting to a variety of businesses including SMG. Mary earned her accounting degree from the University of Missouri - Columbia.
Joe Cardador
Chief Research Officer
As Chief Research Officer, Joe ensures that the research methodology and statistical analyses provided by SMG adhere to the highest professional standards. He earned both his Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and his MBA from Colorado State University. In addition to 10 years of research and consulting work, Joe has taught courses on testing and measurement, organizational behavior, and industrial psychology. Joe is a member of several professional organizations including the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, the American Marketing Association, and the American Association for Public Opinion Research.
Dennis Ehrich
Chief Information Officer
Dennis Ehrich leads the Information Technology team, including all programming, infrastructure, and development activities. His 20 years of Information Technology experience span the disciplines of operations, project management, application development and process improvement initiatives. Prior to his current position, Dennis worked at Accenture in the financial services consulting practice and as Director of Information Technology at H&R Block. Dennis holds a BS in Economics from Denison University and an MBA from the University of Missouri - Kansas City.
Ken White
Senior Vice President, Client Services
Ken focuses on SMG’s restaurant clients and expanding our product portfolio. His strong background in innovation, consulting, and technology helps define SMG’s industry-leading technology platform and enhances our clients’ customer experience programs. Ken has more than 18 years of experience leading large business transformations for Fortune 500 companies. Prior to SMG, Ken worked at H&R Block in various product development, technology, and operational leadership roles. Ken earned his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University.
Robert Howard
Senior Vice President, Client Services
Rob specializes in advising SMG’s retail clients and concentrates on emerging industry efforts. He has a unique ability to convert complex business problems, ideas, and solutions into clear and easy-to-understand concepts and frameworks. Rob has over 20 years of experience delivering compelling multi-channel customer experiences. Prior to joining SMG, he served as Founder and CEO of ClearBrick LLC and a Principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP. He has authored numerous articles and books including “The Customer Experience Fiasco” and “7 Steps to Customer Experience Domination.” Rob has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and an MBA from the University of Kansas.
Jack Mackey
Vice President, Sales
Jack Mackey speaks on service improvement strategies nationwide and has consulted with organizations such as MasterCard, Bombardier, the American Culinary Federation and the International Customer Service Association. He co-authored "The Total Customer Service System" and "The Manager's Role as Coach." Jack studied Business Administration at the University of Arizona and Quantitative Analysis at Syracuse University. He is a volunteer leader with Toastmasters International and past President of the American Society for Training & Development, Kansas City Chapter.
Cindy Wetmore
Vice President, Customer Measurement
As a former SMG client for many years, Cindy has deep experience in performance improvement programs and customer satisfaction initiatives. She joined SMG following 20 years with Hallmark Cards where she managed the customer satisfaction measurement program for the nationwide network of Gold Crown stores. Cindy's career as a retail executive included three years with Hallmark International-UK, where she started a performance improvement network for independent card shop owners in England, Ireland and Scotland. Cindy holds an MBA from the University of Kansas and is co-author of "The Brass Tacks Manager."
Kirk Michelson
Vice President, National Accounts
Kirk Michelson holds an MBA in Marketing from DePaul University and a Masters in Education from the University of Illinois. He has spent the past 25 years in the research practice areas of satisfaction and loyalty. In his consulting role as VP of National Accounts, Kirk re-engineers effective customer experience management initiatives for major corporations. He has worked with clients such as Sears, Wendy's International, United Airlines and Bank of America.
Jeremy Michael
Managing Director
Based on the outskirts of London, Jeremy is responsible for the development of SMG in the UK. Jeremy spent several years working in the service industry in France, Spain and Maryland USA before joining the global research agency TNS in London. Over an eight-year period he was responsible for over 75 customer research projects that included working on brands such as Harrods, Pret a Manger and Mitchells & Butlers. Since 2006, Jeremy has been working on both customer satisfaction and mystery shopping programmes, he was heavily involved with a range of over 90 retail and hospitality clients, including HMV, Holiday Inn, Sony and Subway. Jeremy graduated with an Honours degree in French and Spanish in 1992 and a Masters degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management in 1997.
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