Step One: Care or The Customer-Centered Library

I am attending Karen Hyman’s morning session on customer service and the customer-centered library. She is a fantastic presenter full of deadpan humor and insight. Everyone here she pointed out is an expert on customer service because everyone is a customer. THINK LIKE CUSTOMERS! It is so natural to look at other models and so far Karen has pointed out doctor’s offices, airlines, emergency rooms, the insurance industry… So step one in becoming the customer-centered library is caring, however, caring is not easy. Administrators need to offer support and rewards for caring. Like laughing- even when we fake caring- we get the same endorphins as the real thing. Curiosity is the touchstone. “Wouldn’t it be great if we…?” We can’t out-guess the customer either. We cannot continue to think we know better.

“The muffin isn’t moldy… It just looks moldy.” Karen told us the story of buying a muffin at Gloria Jean’s in the Philadelphia airport. She complained because the muffin looked moldy- apparently this was a common complaint, because batter was mixed in the same bowl as the blueberry batter and created the unusual green palour. As a frequent complaint- why didn’t Gloria Jean’s change the product? A conference participant behind me called out, “we’d make a brochue to explain it!” The room erupted in laughter, but clearly we try to change the cusotmer more often than we change our service or approach.
Like brochures, sign pollution means no one reads signs. “You pay a price for every sign.” is one of Karen’s rules. Signs should be respectful not negative and disrespectful- will it even work?

“Get a grip.” Leaving the victimized librarian attitude behind, own the things that bother you. Finish the following sentence: “My problem is that I…” Among Karen’s examples, try moving services, install skateboard storage, and allow eating in the library. No decision is without consequences, but we should put about customer service first.