The Language of Service
January 12th, 2010I love Kate's recent post about the words we use and the impact they have on customer service.
Language is very important. Just yesterday I had an unpleasant exchange with a patron. She came up to say she was having trouble with the printer, and I started giving her printer tech support. All of this was unhelpful, because she was actually having trouble with the copier. It was frustrating for both of us, and could have been avoided if I had listened to what she was saying instead of the words she was using.
I'm going to make a point of using Kate's "yes, and..." suggestion from now on. It's such a simple thing, yet it encapsulates so much of what libraries do right (and wrong). Great observation, Kate.
January 12th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Thanks so much – glad you liked it! See you in Boston, hopefully.