Michael Faith

Michael G. Faith (born 24 September, 1964) is an American entrepreneur, and the President and CEO of Headsets.com, Inc. Faith is best known for his customer-centric approach to service, which he refers to as Customer Love. He is a contributor to magazines such as Inc. Magazine and Entrepreneur Magazine, and has been quoted in books including When Growth Stalls, by Steve McKee, and Peak, by Chip Conley. He has spoken about his business model at various business and growth conferences across the US such as the Inc. GrowCo conference and Internet Retailer events.
Biography
Early life
Faith was born in Southampton, England, the son of John and Maisie and was the youngest of three brothers. Faith excelled in social settings, and had already started his first business at the age of 12. However, Faith was diagnosed with dyslexia early in life and didn’t do exceptionally well in the academic arena. So at age 15 he dropped out of school.
Personal life
Faith married his girlfriend Melinda in 1990 at a $40 wedding in Reno, Nevada. Later that year, after returning to England to raise up some money, the two came back to the United States to stay with only $1000 to their names. They settled in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Faith gained his US citizenship in 2004. Faith’s company, Headsets.com, Inc., sponsors the Silicon Valley Aftershocks.
Faith’s Companies

Headsets.com, Inc.: Faith started selling headsets in 1997, in San Francisco, CA. For the first three years the company did well using a discount model selling headsets at lower prices with very little service. However, in 2000, they had hit a plateau of $3MM annual revenue with no hope of growing much further. So, in 2001, after a small round of VC capitol and a sudden and drastic switch in business models from a low-service discounter, to a Customer Service focused, full price headset retailer, Headsets.com, Inc. set out on a 6-year growth path that took the company from $3MM in annual sales to $30MM in 2007. 2008 sales are no in the public domain at the time of this writing. Faith attributes the success of this company to "Customer Love."
Reserve Dinners: A non-profit focused on raising money for charitable causes started in 2006, the focus of the company is to host small dinner parties of approximately 10-12 attendees with a guest of honor. The attendees all pay a donation to the guest of honor’s chosen charity. The guests of honor include politicians, business people, celebrities, etc. Past dinners have included such personalities as General John Abizaid, former commander of the US Central Command, Rob Carter, CIO of FedEx, and Sir Richard Branson.
Office TimeSavers: Started in 1999, a online company whose focus is improving office productivity through its range of area code maps, ZIP code directories, and other business publications.
Customer Love
Faith credits "Customer Love" as the number one reason for the success of his company, Headsets.com. Faith says, “Customer love means loving your Customers, believing they’re everything to you and showing that in every aspect of what you do. When we interview Customer service reps, if they’re not comfortable with the phrase ‘Customer love,’ then we don’t select them to work for us." Faith's approach means a rigorous interview process for prospective employees. They must go through seven phone interviews including an interview with a voice coach a business psychologist and with Faith himself. Prospective employees also must go through two in-person interviews including a full 8-hour day shadowing and talking to people within the company. All this so that he can make sure that they are always hiring the right person for the job.
Faith's company posts "7 Promises" on their website, including free lifetime product support and fast live help. Faith makes sure that everyone in the company is focused on Customer Love, even employees who do not always have direct communication with Customers, such as the shipping team.
Faith was a featured speaker at the Inc. 2009 GrowCo conference in Orlando, Florida where he shared how Customer Love helped him grow his company.
Awards

Fast 100: The Bay Area's Fastest Growing Companies (San Francisco Business Times): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Finalist, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year: 2004
Inc 500 Fastest Growing Companies: 2004, 2005, 2006
“Best Places to Work” as named by the San Francisco Business Times, Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal and East Bay Business Times: 2005, 2006
Stevie Award In 4th Annual American Business Awards for Best Customer Service Team: 2006
Headsets.com CEO and President, Mike Faith, makes the Winning Workplaces Best Bosses list: 2006
Internet Retailer Top 500 List: 2007
Finalist “Williams-Sonoma Emerging Growth Award,” Excellence in Business Awards, SF Chamber of Commerce: 2007
Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the country: 2007
Future Endeavors

There has been talk that Faith will be making a run for the Governorship of California in 2010. Although no public confirmation can be found, the domain name faith2011.com was registered to Faith on 3 March, 2009.

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