It is early morning on Sunday and I am seated in a room full of people. People are standing by the entrance door, at the back of the room, and the side walls. I can easily assume we are all here for one purpose. We want to learn how to provide excelent customer service.
Customer Service is not a new topic, but has become increasingly important for people working in the public service field.
The speaker refers to the well known costumer service guidelines: smile, be approachable, follow up, etc. What is new in the message, is the “intentional change” approach. This means that organizations want to provide enough training so their staff understand that good service is not a choice, but a “must have” when providing service to the public.
This change is “intentional” because we are completely awared of the service we want to provide and are trained to provide this service successfully.
Libraries are advised to:
- Create a clear vision
- Hire great people
- Train and support
- Listen to patrons
A “patron first” mentality might be a challenging thought when libraries host a wide array of patrons (mentally ill, homeless, school age, retired, families, young children, etc.) However, libraries are invited to do thinks from the point of vie of the patron.
In terms of hiring great people, the speaker acknowledges that staff with people’s skills might be hard to find sometimes. Thus, interviews should include questions that reveal the candidate’s thoughts on service expectation, verbal and non verbal deescalation techniques, and ask the candidate his/her experience working with staff he/she does not like.
Last, having “people’s skills” helps. Nonetheless, training and staff support are imperative to empower staff to perform high quality customer service.
Kathia Ibacache is a Youth Services Librarian at Simi Valley Public Library.