1. Customer Service:
An Extension of
Your Library’s Brand
Presented by
Libby Post, President
for Suffolk Cooperative Library System
October 2, 2008
Making the Connection
• Good customer service is about keeping
people coming back
• When people keep coming back they build
a brand loyalty to the library
• When the time comes for you to ask the
public for a bigger budget or a new
building, that loyal customer base turns
into a loyal voting base
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2. But, What Is Your Brand?
• Unique position in the market place
• Not enough to be the only library in town
• Competing with B&N, Borders and the
Internet
• Brand is the foundation for all your
marketing and messaging
Brand Examples
• Inspiration
• Mind Recreation
• Technology
• Customer Service
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3. Case Study: Grinnell Library
Association Library, chartered to serve the Town of Wappinger,
service pop. 26, 274
• SWOT analysis
– Library has unbelievable customer service
• Strategy
– Establish an I/you/us relationship between the
library and the community
• Brand essence
– Customer Service
Case Study: Grinnell Library
• Emotional attachment to the present
building
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4. Case Study: Grinnell Library
• Customer Service brand + emotional
attachment to building =
Case Study: Grinnell Library
Posters
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5. Case Study: Grinnell Library
Posters
Case Study: Grinnell Library
Postcards
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6. Case Study: Grinnell Library
Weekly
Newspaper
Ads
How to Bring Your Brand
to Customer Service
• Instill an organizational culture about the
importance of customer service
• Customer interactions form perceptions
that are much more powerful than your
marketing messages alone
• Work with staff to “Live the Brand”
– Everything they do to serve customers comes
out of understanding library’s brand essence
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7. Patrons=Customers
• Need to shift they way we see patrons
• They are customers
• Need to understand that they are actively
engaged in selecting the library’s
programs and services
• Selling a library’s programs and services
means constantly promoting and
improving them
How to View Customer Service
• Every aspect of a library’s operation
• Not just a smiling face behind circ desk
• How efficiently the library works
• How the phones are answered
• How easily patrons can access information
• Breadth of reference materials
• Time and effort it takes patrons to get what
they want
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8. Staff as Customer Service Reps
• Organizational culture shift where staff
understands how important customer
service is
• Customer service encompasses the
library’s entire operation
– How comfortable moms and toddlers are
during story time to how easy it is to download
an audio book off the library’s web site
Engaging Staff
• Essential for staff to understand their role
in customer service
– They are the library’s ambassadors
• But how do we get them to live their roles?
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9. Engaging Staff
• Create a culture within library that
customer service is Job #1.
• Be clear about customer service
expectations when hiring
• Train!
Get on the
Customer Service Train!
• Patrons drive your customer service
– What they need or desire are the highest
priorities
• How do we know what the patrons want?
– Customer feedback
– Information Gathering
• Focus Groups
• Surveys
– Asking patrons one on one at check out
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10. Get on the
Customer Service Train!
• Is your staff “present” when at the library?
• Do they love their jobs?
• Is the staff friendly, accurate and efficient?
• Does the staff look like they want to be
there?
• Can we make their jobs more fun so they
enjoy being there and convey a positive
attitude to patrons?
Get on the
Customer Service Train!
• Library program and service
improvements are part of customer service
– Wireless technology and computer upgrades
– Better web site with enhanced on-line
services
– Expanding collections
– Staff that speaks more than just English
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11. FISH! Philosophy©
• Speaks directly to what libraries are all
about: inspiration, creativity and innovation
– Be There
– Play
– Make Their Day
– Choose Your Attitude
FISH! Philosophy©
• Be There
– Be present while doing what you’re doing
– Listen for content AND emotion
– Don’t let tasks get in the way of your real work
which is serving patrons
– Antidote to being tired is being full present
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12. FISH! Philosophy©
• Play
– Look for productive play in the library’s
environment
• Having a good time doing their job
– What dull or routine tasks can you make more
fun?
– Shouldn’t exclude others or offend people
FISH! Philosophy©
• Make Their Day
– Make the world a better place to be one
person at a time
– Do something unexpected
– Don’t exclude the difficult co-workers or
patrons
– Make it a challenge to make their day
everyday
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13. FISH! Philosophy©
• Choose Your Reaction
– Stop blaming kids, parents, co-workers,
customers and management
– When you look for the worst, you’ll find it
– So, look for the best, you’ll find that too!
FISH! Philosophy©
• Choose Your Attitude
– Be the person you want to spend time with
– It’s not about being happy all the time
– If you don’t believe you have a choice, you
don’t (self-fulfilling prophesies)
– Be responsible for your attitude, it’s
contagious
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14. FISH! Philosophy©
• Take Responsibility
– Instead of “Why are they making us go
through all this change?” try “How can I adapt
to my changing world?”
– Instead of “When are my people going to
communicate better?” try “What can I do to
understand them?”
More on Fish! www.charthouse.com
Give Them The Pickle!
• PICKLES are those special or extra things
you do to make people happy.
– Walking the patron to the item they're looking
for rather than pointing
– Knowing and calling them by name.
– Figure out what your customers want and
then making sure they get it.
– That's the message behind Give`em the
PICKLE!
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15. Give Them the Pickle!
• Service: Make serving the patrons your #1
priority
– You work in a noble profession, be proud of
what you do
• Attitude: Choose it.
– How you think about the patrons is how you’ll
treat them
Give Them the Pickle!
• Consistency: Set high standards and stick
to them
– Patrons return because they like what
happened during their last visit
• Teamwork: Look for ways to make each
other look good
– In the end, everything ends up in front of the
patron
More Pickles: www.giveemthepickle.com
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16. Standards of
Library Customer Service
• Take Responsibility for
– Upholding confidentiality of records and
Intellectual Freedom’s Bill of Rights of all
customers
– Knowing, understanding and correctly
implementing library policies
– Being at your workstation when scheduled
– Creating a cooperative work environment
Standards of
Library Customer Service
• Take Responsibility for
– Exhibiting respect for all customers and co-
workers
– Helping create a welcoming environment in
the library
– Making each patron’s call or visit to the library
a high quality experience
– Meeting the needs of patrons and co-workers
– Verifying that those needs have been met
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17. Standards of
Library Customer Service
• Take Responsibility for
– Avoiding communicating personal value
judgments when interacting with patrons or
co-workers
– Providing service to the public above personal
activities or interests
– Being knowledgeable, courteous and
responsive when communication by phone, e-
mail, writing, speaking, etc.
Davenport Public Library, Davenport, Iowa
Fun Customer Service Ideas!
• Reward loyal library patrons with a little gift
– I Love Libraries Button for checking out 100
items
• Keep in touch with Breakfast with the
Librarian events
– Get to know patrons on a personal level
– Ask them about concerns and likes
– Patrons will feel appreciated that you wanted
to know
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18. Fun Customer Service Ideas!
• Voice Mail Tips of the Week
– Change your message on hold each week to
let them know what’s happening, what new
books are coming, easier way to access info,
etc.
• Thank You+
– Add on “See You Soon,” “See You Later,” or
“See You Tomorrow.”
– Tells them they are always welcome back
Fun Customer Service Ideas!
• Good signage
– Let them know you’re always available to
help, especially seniors who aren’t “great”
with computers
• Know Your Services and Program inside
and out
– Create a manual for all staff
– In-service trainings to up date staff
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19. Fun Customer Service Ideas!
• Make sure policies and procedures are
patron friendly
• Allow food and drink in designated areas
• Identify staff as staff (badges, t-shirts)
• Make ready reference materials readily
available
• Wear a button that says “Please interrupt
me!”
Fun Customer Service Ideas!
• Try arranging lists or other info by
important or popularity rather than
alphabetically
• Add copies of book jackets or other
graphics to stack ends to indicate what
kinds of materials can be found in that
area
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20. Fun Customer Service Ideas!
• Arrange furniture to direct patrons away
from circ and toward the collections and
catalog workstations
• Recruit and train volunteer greeters (Wal
Mart has greeters and they’re always
busy!)
• Trade links back and forth between library
and community organizations
Fun Customer Service Ideas!
• Give organizations that have the library’s
link on their site “Internet tips of the week”
and other content for their sites that link
back to the library’s site
• Provide power strips for lap tops
• E-mail notification for pick-ups, returns,
overdues, events, etc.
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21. Fun Customer Service Ideas!
• Show off your bandwidth or wireless
service with a “LAN Party”—woo hoo!
• Live chat
• Give all staff generic business cards with
pertinent library info
• Plenty of parking
Conclusion
• As trustees and management, you have to
set the tone and create the customer
service culture
• Always be enthusiastic in that endeavor
– Your approach sets the example
• Live your brand through customer service
• Keep them coming back
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