Archives for Service:
August 12th, 2010 Brian Herzog
I’m not sure what got me on this, but all week I’ve been thinking about the language library staff use with patrons, and what we’re able to convey beyond the actual words we use.
I’m sure I learned about this in various customer service workshops in the past, and I’m also sure there’s a name for it, but I can’t remember what it is. It seems to be most relevant when there is a problem or staff has to correct a patron for violating a policy - in those cases, the words we use can go a long way to either help diffuse or inflame the situation. Here are a couple examples of what I’m talking about:
Example 1: A patron asks for help locating a book that the computer says is Checked In, but when the staff person goes to the shelf with the patron, the book isn’t there.
- Staff Response A: “It looks like someone put the book in the wrong place; let’s go back to the desk and request it from another library.”
- Staff Response B: “It should be right here, but is definitely missing; let’s go back to the desk and request it from another library.”
Example 2: A patron walks by the desk eating a hamburger, which violates the library’s no-food policy.
- Staff Response A: “They don’t allow food in the library, you’ll have to throw that away.”
- Staff Response B: “Could you please finish your meal outside before you come into the library?”
Example 3: The computer a patron is using is extremely slow.
- Staff Response A: “Yeah, these computers are really old, so you’ll just have to wait.”
- Staff Response B: “I’m not sure what the problem is, but you’re welcome to move to a different computer or I can reboot this one for you.”
Alright, these aren’t great examples, but here’s my point: in all the Response A’s, the patron is getting the message that someone is to blame, whereas the Response B’s provide the patron with a solution without any passive-aggressiveness.
This is probably a major sociological interpersonal communication issue - whether it’s better to give someone a neutral third-party “they” to focus their displeasure upon, or to dissipate the anger by working on a solution rather than assigning blame. I suppose it varies depending on the level of emotion involved, but I personally prefer the Response B approach, because it addresses the cause of the problem, rather than symptoms.
Let’s have a contest!
Since I can’t remember what this type of phrasing is called, I can’t look up examples or tips on implementing it. So I was hoping that other library staff could suggest some common patron interactions, and some good wording to handle the situations.
I posted this as a question on Unshelved Answers, and whichever answer there gets the most votes over there will win a copy of The Librarian’s Book of Lists, by George M. Eberhart. It’s an interesting book, and not just because it includes my list of 10 Patron Pet Peeves.
Even if you’re not interested in the contest, please do post any wording suggestions you have - I’m really interested in the subtleties of language (like the difference between “yes, but…” and “yes, and…”), and this is something that can be practically useful to a lot of people. Thanks.
Update 8/20/10: Congratulations to Jeff from Gather No Dust - his suggestion got the most votes, so he wins the book. Thanks to everyone, and be sure to check out the suggestions at Unshelved Answers.
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Posted under Library, Service | 7 Comments »
May 22nd, 2010 Brian Herzog
This question just made me laugh. A patron calls in and says,
My husband just installed a fax machine on our home phone last night. Can you send me a test page to see if it works?
I made up a test page and send it to her, but her fax machine never picked up. She called back a little while later and said,
We’ve had a fax machine in our house for years, but it was always the kind you had to answer and then press a “fax” button to receive a fax. He was reading the manual yesterday and found a way to set it so it can answer itself, to receive faxes when we’re not home. I didn’t think it was going to work, so I’ll just set it back the old way and not tell him.
I sent her the test page again after she changed the settings, and this time it went through.
I’ve never been asked to send someone a test fax page before, but I’m happy she thought to ask the library, and that we could help her. But what really made me laugh was that she wasn’t going to tell her husband. And he might never find out, since when it doesn’t work, they’re not home anyway.
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Posted under Library, Reference Question, Service, Technology | No Comments »
March 20th, 2010 Brian Herzog
Due to the nice weather this week, the library has been extremely slow. I’m glad people are outside enjoying the weather, but because of that, this week’s reference question is one left over from Christmastime.
So, cast your mind back to the holiday season, below-freezing temperatures, a foot of snow on the ground, and the stress of finding gifts for all the people on your list in time for the big day. That’s the spirit in which the following email was sent to the reference desk:
> Date: January 11, 2010
> Subject: Researching Rip-Off Company
>
> This is a wild shot at trying to correct the errors of a company in
> your city. Six weeks before December 25, I ordered two gifts from the
> company called Young Explorers. They have a P. O. number, not a street
> address. They failed to deliver. January 9, I received a note to that
> effect.
>
> Kinda late for a Christmas gift.
>
> A second person I talked with had the same problem.
>
> Is there a Better Business Bureau?
>
> Any help you can give to stop the scoundrels will be appreciated.
This wasn’t the first time I’ve gotten a question like this. In all cases, the resources I forward to the patron are pretty much the same.
Starting off with a simple search for “young explorers” chelmsford usually verifies the address and provides some good leads. More often than not, if someone has a complaint about a company, other people do to, so they will show up on various company review websites. For this company, there were a few complaints listed on RipoffReport.com.
But despite the power of Web 2.0, the resource I still like the most when it comes to company complaints is the Better Business Bureau. It may not be perfect, but at the very least it lists accurate contact information for the company. In this case, “Young Explorers” is one business under a parent company which has an A+ rating, despite having complaints lodged against them. I think means the company addresses and rectifies customer complaints, which, short of the problem not happening in the first place, is the best that can be hoped for.
Two good overviews of the complaint process are The Wall Street Journal’s How to Complain About a Company and eHow’s How to Complain To A Company If Your Initial Complaint Goes Unanswered, and I point patrons to these to put things in context. They contain lots of links, including government consumer protection resources.
But along with those, I also forward them a few other websites related to reviews and complaints:
Finally, depending on the patron and the company, I will also include links to the Chelmsford Police Department, the Chelmsford Business Association, and Middlesex Community College Law Center, which provides free mediation services to local consumers and businesses.
I never heard back after I replied to the patron’s message, but I hope he contacted the company and worked something out. An unsatisfactory transaction is bad enough, but much worse when it’s a gift. Customer service doesn’t end after the transaction is complete - user experience starts with the first impression and continues through every time the customer (or patron) uses the product.
Tags: business, company, complaint, consumer, consumers, customer, customers, libraries, Library, public, Reference Question, Service See Also
Posted under Library, Reference Question, Service | 1 Comment »
February 23rd, 2010 Brian Herzog
I like to think I’m the kind of person open to the opinions of others, and I certainly don’t expect myself to be right all the time. However, it’s still rare for me to advertise when I think I am wrong, yet today is one of those days.
Last week my director received the following email from a patron and forwarded it to all the department heads to see what we thought about it:
Ms. Herrmann,
I just heard about Red Box doing a trial with Libraries across the country. This is a fantastic idea, there currently is no Red Box in Chelmsford Center. Attached is a link for you to look at.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jan/27/henderson-libraries-become-redbox-locations/
In case you’ve never heard of Red Box, they are dvd vending machines which rent new movies at $1 per night. The machines are located outdoors and are available to the consumer 24/7. Red Box pays the library and also allows the library to free up cash from having to purchase current films.
It would be great if Chelmsford could get in on this trial!!
I had heard of libraries using both Redbox and Netflix, but never really gave it too much though. So I was kind of surprised at my response to my director:
Maybe this is just a reaction based on the kind of day this has been, but I have mostly negative feelings about this. Based on http://tametheweb.com/2009/07/01/red-box-rentals-at-princeton-public-library/ is seems any money we get is minimal, and I’m always reluctant to give
businesses a green light to target library patrons.
If we did put one of these in, I sincerely hope it wouldn’t mean we’d be buying fewer DVDs and rely on this as a crutch, because just like Rosetta Stone, they can pull out at any time and we’d be left
scrambling to fill the holes in our collection.
Its biggest benefit would be providing patrons access to DVDs 24 hours a day, but it also means patrons have a reason to be at the front door 24 hours a day, doing who knows what - the police department might not like that idea. Then there’s also the patrons who return the RedBox
DVDs in our dropbox, those who put ours into the RedBox, patrons demanding refunds and tech support from the circ desk, blah blah blah.
More reading on this:
I know Conway makes money off our printers and the FaxVend people do too, but RedBox feels way more commercial - like letting a dealership put used cars in our parking lot to make it easier for patrons to shop for cars. Or letting a bookstore set up a table of bestsellers in the lobby and sell books so patrons don’t have to wait on a long reserve list.
I don’t know exactly why I don’t like it, but right now I’m leaning against it - but again, it might just my mood. Blah.
So my question is this: why I am wrong?
I don’t feel like I’m right, because I can see positive aspects to a Redbox being in front of the library (especially for libraries that already charge $1/DVD), and it’s unusual for me to be this negative. I don’t think that every new idea or technology has a place in every library, but still, my answer on this surprised me.
So I thought I’d ask the wider library world for your opinions on Redboxes and libraries. Lots of good comments were posted on Tame the Web when Michael talked about this last year, but I’m still not entirely convinced. What do you think?
Tags: business, commercial, dvd, dvds, libraries, Library, machine, public, redbox, rental, Service, vending See Also
Posted under Library, Service, Technology | 16 Comments »
February 16th, 2010 Brian Herzog
I liked this post about a library experience Marilyn Johnson wrote while researching her book, This Book is Overdue!* - actually, I like reading any non-librarian review of a library experience, because it’s the best way to learn how well libraries are serving patrons.
Another post worth reading is Do Library Staff Know What The Users Want? (via Jessamyn). Good user experience has to start with library staff making an effort to accommodate patrons’ needs and wants, but we will not out-smart (or out-stupid?) patrons about everything.
“Anticipate and respond” are words to live by, but it’s also a good idea to go right to the source. Here are a few ideas for that:
- Easy-to-find suggestion box at each service desk and online (and promote it)
- Teen advisory board, or Adult Advisory Board, or ESL Advisory Board, etc
- Focus groups (private and confidential) and open forums to invite comments, reviews and suggestions
- Encourage members of the Friends of the Library to regularly relate their library experiences, good and bad
- Trustees organize a “secret shopper” program - especially to test out library policies, which will help keep them up-to-date with patron needs
- Have evaluations at the end of each program (library-sponsored as well as club/group meetings) and ask open questions as well as specific questions about the facility
- Pay attention to what people ask - if everyone needs to ask where the bathroom is located, that might be an area to improve
- If a patron comes to you with a comment/complaint/suggestion, listen, and encourage (but don’t require) them to put it in writing to make actionable paper trails
- Ask friends and family what their experiences have been
- Visit other libraries for a fresh perspective, and share ideas with other librarians
- Then of course, celebrate Work Like A Patron Day
[Please share additional ideas in the comments]
And when you do make adjustments based on patron input, get feedback on the new setup, too. Nothing is static, and it’s possible to improve improvements.
Using the library shouldn’t be annoying or complicated or antagonistic. Occasionally patrons tell me that they come to my library because the staff at their town’s library was rude or unhelpful, or they can’t find parking, or the policies are prohibitively restrictive. It should make me feel good about where I work, but really it makes me sad they had to shop around for a library.
I am glad they came to us, but I also always tell them to make sure they report their complaints to their home library to make sure they know about it and can work to improve it. Most of the time they laugh at that idea, as if they’ve washed their hands of their home library. What really worries me are the people who have a bad experience at one library and never go back or to another one, and instead take their information needs, community participation, children, and votes elsewhere.
There has to be a balance between what the patrons need and what each individual library can offer, but if we don’t support our patrons, why would they support us?
*Full disclosure: I was mentioned in
the book (page 20 and 258!), but absolutely read it anyway. And if you’re interested in obituaries, I also enjoyed her previous
The Dead Beat.
And check it out - there’s a contest to win a This Book Is Overdue! mousepad
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Posted under Library, Marketing, Service | 1 Comment »
