WVLA 2013 Fall Conference
Hilary Fredette:
Martha Yancey:
[email protected]
[email protected]
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Introductions
Your Name
The library where you work
Does your library have a service challenge?
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Building a Common Understanding
 Why is good service important?
 Who are your customers?
 Why is it so hard to find great service?
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To build a culture of great service, you need to:
Define service
Teach service
Live service
Measure service
Reward service
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WVU Libraries
Mission Statement for Customer Service
 WVU Libraries shall provide outstanding customer service to all users
 Every user and co-worker will be treated in a positive manner with
courtesy and respect
 Every request will be handled quickly, accurately and professionally
 We will give great service to each other as well as our users
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WVU Libraries
Service Star Card
Front
Back
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Build a Culture of Great Service:
What is currently in place at your library?
Define it:
Does your library have a mission statement? This can be the starting point
towards developing a customer service mission statement.
Teach it:
A commitment to teaching starts the process.
Live it:
The commitment to great service must be strongest at the leadership level.
Measure it:
You must measure your customer’s satisfaction to know if the program you
developed is successful.
Reward it:
Rewarding it keeps it going. There are many ways to reward people.
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Three Steps to Great Service
1.
Be Approachable
 10/4 Rule
o at 10 feet, smile or make eye contact with the user
o at 4 feet, greet them
 Speak to the user first – don’t wait for them to speak
o Engage them
o Ask open-ended questions
o Figure out what the user wants or needs
 Speak plainly; avoid library jargon
2. Help users to
 get what they are looking for - or  solve their current problem
You should do so: [A.P.E.]
 Accurately
o Make sure you understand the request by repeating
it back to the user, if necessary
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o If you are unsure of an answer, check to make sure
before responding
 Politely
o Refer the question, not the user, if immediate
referral is not possible
 Enthusiastically
o Be sincere
o Fake it ‘til you make it
o Have the user leave feeling positive about the
library
3.
Go the Extra Mile
 Walk the user to the stacks or another desk
 Provide a free print if they are having printing problems
 Follow up with the user
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Extra Mile Ideas
1.
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Recipe for Handling Customer Complaints
(Blue and Gold tickets at WVU Libraries)
1. Acknowledge the complaint
2. Sincerely apologize
3. Take action to make it right
4. Thank the user for making the complaint
5. Document the complaint
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WVU Blue Tickets
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WVU Gold Tickets
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The 5-90-5 rule
Is customer service a skill you are born with?
Can great customer service be taught?
5%
are born with the ability and interest to provide
great service “born service providers”
90%
with training can do well. Want to do a good
job.
5%
not willing or able to give good service
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The Power of Language:
Avoid……
Instead Try…..
Thoughts…………..
Can I help you?
May I help you?
Saying almost anything that greets
the user and gets them into a
conversation
The automatic answer to
‘Can I help you?” is “No” most
often, it is a conversation
stopper, not starter.
You Should…….
Identify your expectations and
state it clearly: Would you…Would
you mind…Could you….
“Shoulds” are usually tip-offs that
you have unspoken expectations.
I have to…
You have to…
I am going to……
Why do you have to? Making a
conscious choice is far preferable
to feeling “forced” or to making
as sacrifice.
You will need to go ….
Let me walk you over there and
get that for you
Let me walk you over there and
show you….
Our systems can be confusing.
Help the user feel taken care of,
not ordered around
I can’t….
We don’t do that….
Normally we don’t, but let’s see if
we can find a way to….
We are WVU Libraries. If we can
find a way to make it happen, we
will do it! We will do what is
necessary to make them happy.
We don’t have it…..
I’m sorry, we do not own the
material or the item is already
checked-out. Let me find out
where the information might be
found
Have an alternative to offer to
get them what they need or want
Anything Else?
Is that all?
What else can I do for you today?
Anything else sounds like you’re
trying to get rid of the user
Revised from Zingerman’s The Art of Giving Great Service Seminar 8/13 hf/my
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The Art of Giving Great Service
Outline of WVU Libraries’ Workshops
Each class will be broken into 3 groups of 5-7. In front of each attendee will be the workbook and a tin of candies
with their name. Everyone has assigned seats.
1.
Welcome attendees, thank them for coming and ask them to participate and ask questions. Go around
the room and have everyone introduce themselves to the others. (10 min)
a. Name
b. Library and department
c. How long you’ve worked at WVU Libraries
d. What you like BEST about working at the Library; must be a positive statement
i. We’ll come back to you if you can’t think of something positive
2.
Myra talks about Libraries’ mission and the importance of customer service. (5-10 min)
3.
Show video. (20 min)
4.
5.
Break out workbooks: (10-15 min)
a. Let’s build a common understanding.
b. Let’s build a culture of great service
i. Define it: Customer Service Mission Statement
1. Any suggestions or comments?
ii. Teach it: What we are doing throughout the fall
1. That’s what we’re doing today and hope to continue in the future. Are there
other ways this can be taught?
iii. Live it
1. What are ways we can live it?
iv. Measure it:
1. This is a crucial piece that is being planned. We’d like to get your input.
v. Reward it:
1. What would be a good reward ($$ is not an option)
Lunch (30 min)
6.
Ice Breaker activity: break into groups and play the 2 truths, 1 lie game. (10 min) – if time allows
7.
Three steps to great service (15 min)
8.
9.
Explain extra miles; both daily and for complaints:
Extra mile: each table develops list of extra mile options (in 10 min); winning table gets award, each
table must have options for both tech and public service depts. (enough rewards for tie:12)
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Giving Great Service
Feedback from mandatory WVU Libraries “Great Service” workshops
Comments about the session:
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Buy WVU Library bags for rain protection
Well thought-out workshop. Need larger room, a little crowded
This was fun
Excellent workshop!
Very good workshop – fun and informative!
Need more time for discussions
I really enjoyed this and look forward to future sessions. I think I can (and will) do better in
providing customer service. I hope the Libraries continue to have conversations about our
service because I think we need to really engage our patrons… otherwise libraries become
irrelevant. Would love to see sessions on telephone skills, working w/ international students,
getting along better w/ co-workers, etc.
This was excellent. Inspiring and a good shot in the arm for the beginning of a new academic
year.
Good atmosphere, did not feel talked at.
Maybe make it longer?
Not at this time
This was fun! Very useful – we need it every other year or so.
Enjoyable and informative.
Better than I thought. Activities not so bad.
Thank you all; it took a lot of work to plan and deliver this session. It’s a great start. One
question: what can we do to apply relevant ideas from this session to the culture of instruction?
Hope this works
Enjoyed it!
I think our ‘culture’ has wanted to be of good public service, but I think sometimes some of us
feel like we are ‘threatening’ others who don’t want to go as far with service
Very fun – valuable lessons – we all need reminded
Good job!
Excellent and I really appreciate it!
Good session. Reinforces & encourages me to give customer ser.
Very good! Martha, Hilary &b Alyssa did an outstanding job putting this together – Thanks!
This was a very interesting and informative session
Presenters created a good atmosphere for sharing ideas, participation.
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Give us feedback on the process. Let’s find a better term than “patron” or “user” or “customer”.
We need new or better terms for a new or better culture.
This was great - thanks for all the time you have put into it!
There were a lot of good suggestions, ideas, and interaction in this group today. It was a very
positive experience.
Happy that this has started – hopeful that it may help bring about change.
I have never “served” anyone – and I am not a “servant”. I provide assistance to patrons who
require it – I am an “assistant”. The servant-customer paradigm is a relic of 19th century social
patterns which have little place in an egalitarian modern world.
I like the idea of getting a list of extra miles. Looking at which rules are no longer useful is a
great idea
Thank you
Very good conversations
Great job
I enjoyed it. Thank you!
Good session – fun.
Very well done. Good balance of activities.
I was impressed that I got a card in the mail thanking me for registering for the workshop,
signed by the 3 workshop leaders. Helpful reminders!
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Bibliography
All titles below are available through Interlibrary Loan from WVU
Weinzweig, Ari. Zingerman’s Guide to Giving Great Service: treating your customers
like royalty. New York: Hyperion, 2003.
Zingerman’s 3 Steps to Giving Great Service: treating our customers like royalty.
Produced and created by Matthew Grocoff. Dancing Sandwich Enterprises. 2007.
DVD.
Zingerman’s 5 Steps to Effectively Handling a Complaint. Produced and created by
Matthew Grocoff. Dancing Sandwich Enterprises. 2009. DVD.
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