What do you consider to be great customer service?
April 10, 2007 by fairfielder
We all recognize the feeling when we have a great experience in a retail or in a public service agency. What are the tangible things that make the experience so great? Do you like being acknowledged when you arrive? Do you like a friendly smile? What about someone approaching you and asking you if you need help? Does good signage help? Do you read signs? What saves you time? Shorter lines? More personal service? More self-help technology?
It is my believe that there are some common things we can do to make your library visit that much better. Be friendly. Be prompt when serving someone. Be willing to get the item for the patron/customer. Be willing to show people how to find a book, send an email, download information from a database.
But what else can we consider doing for you to make your library visit/experience stellar? Here is your chance to share your ideas. Please be positive. Please don’t focus on a particular staff member. Also if you give us information about yourself such as you visit the library most times with your young children and spend time in the children’s library and would like to see…the following….that will help us. We do not promise we can do everything. We do promise to consider your ideas seriously and implement those we can.
Have you thought of installing a small food and drink station the library, with a few esasy chairs it would generate an interaction, which might be encoraged by volunteer bookreading, short act or discussion group?
Yes we do think about cafes in libraries. Stamford has a Starbuck’s, Westport has a cafe, and other libraries around the country have coffee shops, bookstores, and gift shops. The Main Library is right downtown near several retail places where people can enjoy coffee and goodies and then come to the library! We do have wonderful places for people to come together in the library - during programs in the Rotary Room, the Memorial Room, in study rooms, and quietly in the reading rooms and tables located in the Main and Branch libraries.
Thank you for your comment. Love hearing from you!
Hi-
I am happy that this blog exists and that I found it! I think this actually illustrates one of the problems with our library services - people don’t know that they exist. I think the library needs to do a better job getting the word out and not wait for people to visit the website to find out.
I also read in the paper that the library is going to be conducting focus groups to aid in the development of a new 5-year plan. I have recently read that focus groups are not the best way to get user input because they tend to take on a “group dynamic” with the weaker personalities in the group giving in to the stronger more vocal ones. Also, since the focus groups are voluntary, they will probably consist of people who have free time and let’s face it, much of the community (your prospective users) don’t have that luxury and their needs may not be addressed.
Just some thoughts…thanks for asking.
Thank you so much for your comments. And I wholeheartedly agree — historically librarians have not been very effective about telling the wonderful story of the “hidden” community treasure - the public library.
Hopefully this is changing and people are taking note. I really think the beautiful new Main Library on Old Post Road has increased community awareness. We know usage in the Children’s Library has increased threefold and we know our total circulation has reached new heights. In fact over 86,000 items were borrowed last month! Finally we do hear great comments from people who come into the library and confess “I have not been in the library for years - and look what I have been missing!”
Keeping the website current helps, submitting press releases to papers helps (have a look in the Fairfield Minuteman and in the CT Post (pA6) today and you will see a piece about our great new Branch Librarian Nancy Coriaty), and this blog helps too.
What I really think does more than anything is people-to-people contact on the public service desks, at community meetings, and sharing your views in writing, on the phone etc will help to build this tremendously valuable relationship between Fairfield residents and Fairfield Librarians. We are here to serve you and serve you well. Please call or come in
or continue on the blog and we will respond.
We are very excited about embarking on our new Long-range plan. We would love many people to be involved. Focus groups are one way. They can be effective if you have a strong facilitator, everyone is given an opportunity to speak, and meeting times are varied. Other ways to be part of the process? Perhaps I will use this blog to provide an update of how things are going and ask for ideas, comments, etc. What do you think? You could write a letter expressing your thoughts. There may be a community survey. Town Librarian Maura Ritz is more than welcome to talk on the phone or meet with you. We are open 72 hours a week (during the school year), open-minded, and open to all great community input!
If you would like to be part of the long-range planning process please call Town Librarian Maura Ritz at 256-3154.
Let’s keep talking!
Thanks for the reply.
I agree that the new library is a step in the right direction and I did see the articles about the new Branch Librarian however, I don’t think either article did a good job of letting the public know what she will be doing and why her placement is exciting and worthy of a press release.
Why don’t we ever see announcements of new services or resources listed in the local papers? I am sure many people in town are totally unaware of the access they have to things like online databases and this blog. If I hadn’t been searching the library website for a library marketing class I am taking I never would have known about the blog. I recently read an article written by the former president of the PLA, Daniel Walters, that talked about a study conducted by OCLC a short time ago and it said that 72% of the respondents to the study had used search engines but only 30% had ever visited their library website and only 16% had ever used an online database. How sad!
In case you are interested in seeing the article, it was in Public Libraries 45(3) 7-9 My/Je 2006.
Another great article I read recently spoke of a group of librarians at this year’s ALA conference who are part of a “Book Cart Drill Team”. I personally think it would be great if some of the fairfield librarians put together a team, created a routine and performed it at the town Memorial Day parade - talk about great PR and exposure! Think of the possibilities: the parade passes in front of the library and tables could be set up for library card signups and distribution of other information pertaining to library services. It would make the library so much more a part of the community - being involved in such a well attended event.
I appreciate your encouragement to join the focus group and it is something I am considering. I would love to see Fairfield’s library be all that it can be!
Thanks for your comments. I do think we are trying to get the word out faster and more effectively. It just may take some time for people to recognize this. I know we submitted press releases about the new online SAT prep database and only one paper printed the item. I do know 16 people showed up for the demonstration last week. I do know we submitted press releases to the papers about the online foreign language Rosetta Stone service we have now. Hopefully over time we will be considered more newsworthy. I hope to talk up another new format - Playaways- this week to let people know about them. So keep us in the know about what you are not hearing or seeing and we will continue to try to make more news.
Re: the book cart drill team. I believe it was started by the Bridgeport Library (at least in this area) and is a stable in their parades. And just like you I mentioned the idea of us marching in the next Fairfield Memorial Day parade and people here liked the idea. But let’s involve the community — are you and your friends and family interested in joining us next year to plan and march in the parade? Let me know.
Would love your input in the long-range planning process.
Please keep the comments coming!