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Professional Biography – Heidi McCarthy

Heidi has been customer focused her whole life. And she has been a "tough customer" most of the time as well. She sets high, customer centric expectations for herself and those under her supervision, at the same time expecting the same high standards from others.

Heidi got her start in customer service working as waitress while putting herself through college. If you want to make any money as a server, you've got to be focused on the Service.

From 1978 – 1980 she partnered with her husband Kyle in his underwater salvage business, Master Divers, based out of Newport Beach, CA. In dealing with the "rich and famous" Heidi learned a lot about people's expectations. She also honed her skills in dealing with people who could be very challenging.

Heidi also worked in the corporate arena, working in the Newsstand Circulation Department of Petersen Publishing. Her eight years at Petersen taught her much about the ins and outs of working in corporate America. She learned how to deal with internal policies, procedures and politics. She also learned how to deal with venders and customers.

In her later years with Petersen, as Manager of Single Copy Sales, she would represent the company in meetings with local magazine wholesalers all across the United States and Canada. She also was part of the team that dealt with and met with the national distributor based in the metro New York City area.

In 1989 Heidi started her own consulting company, Business Support Services (BSS). BSS taught its clients the skills of office organization, efficiency and time management. She also did meeting planning – working on projects as small as 10 – 15 people up to retreats and conferences of 1,000 people. Additionally, as a meeting planner she coordinated a two-day street festival in the Los Angeles Flower District. It was at this time that Heidi's passion for teaching and sharing what she has learned came to the forefront.

When she was still running BSS she started consulting with Custom Training Institute. The consulting soon became a full time job, where she became the General Manager and Director of Operations. This job showed Heidi the immense need for what has become her specialty niche – customer service in the electronic universe.

Additionally, Heidi has the ability of being able to see holes in systems that on the surface look to be good and solid. And, she loves to teach – to share what she has learned .

Heidi’s passion for excellence in business caused her to found Toughest Customer, where today she helps companies grow and retain customers through improved customer service and extreme client care. Toughest Customer is based in Prescott Valley, AZ.

Education

National University, Los Angeles, California
Bachelor of Business Administration, Marketing emphasis
Summa Cum Laude, 1988

Awards and Recognition

National Association of Professional & Executive Women
National University Certificate of Leadership Award and Scholarship
Women in Management, Certificate of Achievement
Women in Management, Certificate of Recognition
Women in Management, Certificate of Appreciation for Commitment and Leadership

Community Service

Ambassador for the Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce
Team Captain for Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl-a-thon since 2003.