Be My Guest: Great Customer Service from the Best

Be My Guest: Great Customer Service from the Best Customer Service Training from Jennifer Babcock, Trump Entertainment Resorts, Atlantic City The NJ State Library sponsored this training for NJ librarians because the goal of the NJ State Library is to help libraries move from providing information to providing an excellent information-seeking experience for our customers. It seemed to me that this describes a goal that I’ve heard expressed by library staff and supporters across the state. The point was made that in today’s environment, average service just won’t cut it. It is so important not to market a service until we are confident that we can provide that service in an excellent fashion. “We will be remembered for creating memorable experiences through superior and personalized service.” (…vision statement developed from talking to customers and employees) One thing I started thinking about during this session is how to answer the question, “What are our customers looking for?” Since library customers are not just buying soap, they may be looking for an experience/an environment that resonates with them (not just on the content level—correct information, but on the feeling level—“I love it here! I love that person!”). At this training, we were encouraged to think about the entire Cycle of Service…from first to last moment in the library/on the phone, etc.…every employee the customers meet along the way is a “moment of truth”…it sets the tone for the rest of the experience. The simple system/service standards: Acknowledge…initial interaction between employee and customer: Smile, body language, pro-active respond to seeking behavior, professional appearance, friendly verbal greeting (shouldn’t have to script it) Connect…build a relationship…spending time with the customer = building regular customers: Use names (look at the name on their card and memorize it), give information, solve problems (take ownership—if you can’t solve it break down internal barriers and find someone who can), check for satisfaction (Is there anything I can get for you? Anything else you need?—how to turn where’s the bathroom question into a customer service experience), listen Thank…thanks for choosing… Invite to return, express appreciation, share information, fond farewell The point was made that sometimes it feels like everybody has a problem, but in fact only 4% actually complain to us. Dissatisfied customers will tell 10-20 others (probably a whole lot more than that in this day and age). Happy customers only tell 3-5 people. 14% of customers leave because of the product or service and 82% leave because of treatment they receive. What to do? When dealing with people who are unhappy—the first thing employee says sets the tone for the entire customer service experience. Listen…hear the customer out. Apologize…I’m sorry that happened to you…let’s see what we can do about that. Understand…empathy/sympathy—stay away from the power of the “but.” Give…give them the space to unload, give them what they want if you can, try to make suggestions to management to change the system to avoid the problem in the first place. Help…do what you can, if you can—try to focus on what we can do, not what we can’t do. Lots of questions and ideas came out in this training. What questions do you have about providing superior customer service? Click on comment below if you’d like to hear more (or share ideas) about anything noted above or any other customer service issue.