Customer Service

Through the Chaos: Staying

Student-Focused

Elaina BielserPatricia SimpsonTodd SpinnerSchool of Chemical SciencesCareer Services and Academic AdvisingUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

“We’re not perfect. But we try hard to reach perfection with every order. It

creates an attitude of service. That is why your call is never an interruption.

Your question is never dumb.”-Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters

Olympia, Washington

Just a few customer service factsHow good does your work have to be? What percentage of customers should we try to please?90%, 95%? How about 99.9%?

If other professions used the 99.9% mark: At lease 20,000 wrong prescriptions per year 8.6 hours of no water or power per year 500 incorrect surgeries per week 2 short or long landings at major airports per day 2,000 lost articles of mail per hour

We could not accept 99.9% in many fields, what do we expect with regard to ourselves?

Illinois Tuition and Fee FactsCost for Chemistry Life Science Tuition, Fees, Costs

$33,482 for in-state students $47,054 for out of state students $48,054 for international students

Can we see why our students would expect excellent customer service from advising?

Customer Service If you fail to meet expectations, you will get

dissatisfied customers/supervisors If you meet expectations, you will get indifferent

customer/supervisors You must exceed expectations

If you cannot solve the problem, find someone who can Be proactive, seek out and solve problems Take personal responsibility (but don’t take it

personally!) Always explain what you can do for the customer, not

what you can’t Don’t say “I’m sorry” unless you mean it Never place blame on anyone else

Provide solutions, not excuses

Customer Service Most people are not rude or discourteous, just

indifferent No eye contact Talking to others while assisting a customer Talking about someone else within ear-shot of a

customer Working on other tasks while customer waits Pointing to an item or room rather than

showing/taking customer to it Failing to immediately greet a customer Responding “I don’t know” without attempting to find

out Failure to follow through with promises

“It is critical for all people to strive to carry out their work with professional competence and with an attitude of

service to others.”

-Dr. Carlos CavalleIESE Business School

University of Navarra, Spain

The Student is… the most important person at our University, without

students, there would be no need for your position not a cold enrollment statistic but a flesh and blood

human being with feelings and emotions like our own not someone to be tolerated so we can do our thing,

they are our thing not dependent on us, rather, we are dependent on

them not an interruption to our work, but the purpose of it,

we are not doing them a favor by serving them, they are doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so

Customer Service Based Advising SCS has been moving to a customer service based

advising philosophy/theory for the past three years

Student satisfaction and response has been positive

It is a work in progress

Not all your interactions will be positive, all the time

Professional Competence Appropriate Education Strong interpersonal skills Availability to advisees, faculty, or staff Appropriate referral activity Use and dissemination of appropriate information

sources Monitoring of student progress toward academic and

career goals Mastery of institutional regulations, policies, and

procedures Participation in and support of advisor development

programs

-Criteria for NACADA Outstanding Advisor Award

Attitude of Service Availability to advisees, faculty, or staff Frequency of contact with advisees Caring, helpful attitude toward advisees, faculty

and staff Meeting advisees in informal settings Participation in and support of intrusive advising

to build strong relationships with advisees Ability to engage in, promote and support

developmental advising

-Criteria for NACADA Outstanding Advisor Award

Avoid Gossip People choose to spread rumors because it makes

them look good, feel better or casts an unfavorable light on the individual

Gossip can cause irreparable damage

Refuse to spread or listen to gossip

Set an Example, Walk Your Talk When we focus on being positive and responsive

to the student regardless of their attitude, we present a positive image for others to see and emulate

The impression we present of our department and institution is memorable

People want to be around positive individuals and are more willing to follow the example you will set

Be Accountable Avoid placing blame on another department or

colleague for a mistake

When you blame someone else for the problem in front of a student, it only generates more ill feelings

Be accountable for your department and institution and provide alternatives in order to fix the situation

Avoid Complacency Strive for constant improvement

Recognize areas you need to improve and establish personal and professional goals

Tackle the most difficult areas first

Look for the positive during your personal growth and change processes

Listen to your Speech Hear what you say to others and how you say it

(i.e. tone of voice)

Mentally observe your body language

People will mirror your message and your body language

If your communication is positive you can better expect a favorable response

Resolve conflicts immediately When we delay the resolution of conflicts it allows

more time for people to let the situation fester and create negative scenarios

Address a conflict when it arises and ill feelings will be doused before they have the opportunity to begin

“When there is an elephant in the room… introduce him.”

-Randy Pausch

Use Positive Language Use positive terms

State what you can do, not what you can’t

People to tend focus and remember the negative words more then the positive

Avoid Negativity Listen to your inner voice

Surround yourself with positive people

Negativity breeds more negativity

When you are around others who have a positive attitude it will be easier for you to remain upbeat and focused

Be Proactive Don’t wait to take action

Look for positive solutions to challenging situations

Your genuine concern and upbeat willingness to take immediate action will be remembered longer than the negative feelings

Remember… What you do is not inherently easy Select a student-focused attitude Strive for constant improvement Avoid gossip Set an example and walk your talk Be accountable Avoid complacency Listen to your speech Resolve conflicts immediately Use positive language & avoid negativity Be proactive

Assessment“A systematic appraisal of advising is

necessary to determine whether student and institutional expectations

are being met and to justify professional recognition.”

-Frank J. Spicuzza University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Assessment Create a survey

Can be either paper based or computer based or both

Web Services on campus has a tool to create a form

Can be anonymous but you can leave an e-mail to have students to get a response from someone if they want

Indicators of Advisor Success Student Success

Student Attitudes

Administration/Faculty/Staff Attitudes

Some Issues Advisor Load (Student/Advisor Ratio)

Majors, Minors and Prospective Students

“The field of advising has yet to produce definitive research on the relationship between advisor load and either student satisfaction or advisor effectiveness.”

“Frankly, there is no magic formula that fits determining advisor load at every institution…In a sense, the issue of

advisor load is predicated on understanding the differential needs of your students.”

-Wes HableyACT, Inc.

Compassion vs. Accountability

Work Environment Under appreciation Personality Conflicts

Student Responsibility

Some Issues

Questions?

Thank You!