Now! That’s What I Call

Customer Service

Julie Strange & Cathay Crosby | MLA 2009

“customer service”

the experience

zero

priceless

the basics

customer focusmoments of truthempowered staff

empower your staff

“charged a 50-cent late fee while turning in a book that her late mother had checked out of a Harrison Public Library branch.”

Welcome to Nordstrom

We're glad to have you with our Company. Our number one goal is to provide outstanding customer service. Set both your personal and professional goals high. We have great confidence in your ability to achieve them.

Nordstrom Rules: Rule #1: Use good judgment in all situations.

There will be no additional rules.

Please feel free to ask your department manager, store manager, or division general manager any question at any time.

on your customers

acknowledge them

active listening is key

talk to them!

embrace customers as co-creators

set expectations

use all your tools

don’t be a barrier, find a way

Anything else I can help with? Good luck on the test!Have a good night!

(An update on) email reference as a quality service to Maryland library patrons

• Patrons asked more questions about library policies.

•Patrons asked more factual questions, including questions that begin with “Can you answer…?”

•F2F people seem more engaged in the interaction

Charlotte Ford, Ph.D., “Questions Asked in Face-to-Face, Chat, & E-mail Reference Interactions”

Three key differences

Maryland AskUsNow!Maryland AskUsNow!

Email Reference

A passion for excellence in a Zen state of mind

Basic EmailThe service is assigned a simple email address provided on the library web site. If user wants to submit a question, they can just click on the link, which in turn launches the user's email software (such as Microsoft Outlook, Eudora, etc.) The user then fills out the email and sends it to the library via the user's email software.

Web Forms User fills out a form on the library web site and clicks a button to send it via email to the library.

Two commonly- used types of email reference

  # of libraries (systems/locations)

Web Form Email Address Both None

Public Library Systems

24 17 6 0 1

Regional Libraries*

3* 1 2 0  0

 Special Libraries (a sampling)

7 2 4 0  1

Academic Libraries

34 21 10 1 2

*Note: Enoch Pratt/SLRC was grouped with public libraries

Comparison of email reference service:web form, email address, both or none

                                                                                                                       

                     

•Simple email (wide open to any type of question) - and

•Could necessitate clarification more often .

•Tracking timely responses can be challenging -

•Stats are usually broadbased - or - depending upon what the library system needs

•Email links depend upon patron’s email client (i.e. Outlook? Web-based?). Patron might have to cut & paste address in.

Email versus web forms: email

•Form’s fields helps think more specifically about question - and - (depending upon how this is used)

•May be too specialized for patron use (an email form for every department and/or service) -

•Tracking and follow up -

•If QP is used

•Keeps everything in one place

•Scripts are easy to configure and use

•Training focuses on the same software

•Reports are consistent with chat and easy to generate

•No additional expense if chat is already used

•Dependency on QP software (maintenance, troubleshooting, updates) and

Email versus web forms: forms

Sample

our email

of our library.

“I am looking for an answer. Is filling out this form worth it?”

If I spend x amount of time filling out their

form, will I get y in z minutes?

Public Libraries

# received / week

Library 1 1.5

Library 2 28

Library 3 7

Library 4 77

Library 5 70

Library 6 12.5

Library 7 88

Library 8 40

Library 9 55

Library 10 10

Total: 389

Avg. per week: 55.571

Academic Libraries# received / week

Library 1 5

Library 2 1

Library 3 2.5

Total: 8.5

Avg. per week: 1.214

An estimated weekly number of reference–related emails received by 14 Maryland libraries

Note: These figures reflect typical weeks during January – April 2009.

Special Libraries# received / week

Library 1 57

Library 2 11

Total: 68

Avg. per week: 9.714

Hello Cathay Crosby,

The Library of Congress first began using email as a reference tool in 1994.  For further details, you can review the following timeline of major milestones in the Library's use of the Internet to share resources with the public:

< http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/libsci/faq.html#11 >

According to the timeline, on November 7, 1994, the Library's National Reference Service (NRS) began a pilot project to respond to reference queries received over the Internet at the email address lcref@loc.gov (no longer active).  Many questions were referred by NRS to email accounts maintained by other areas of the Library.  Later, in the summer of 1995, the National Reference Services established lcinfo@loc.gov (no longer active), a centralized Internet email address for online inquiries to LC.  The Library's current Ask a Librarian service (< http://www.loc.gov/rr/askalib/ >) did not debut until June 2002.

I hope this answers your question.  If there is anything else that I can do, please let me know.

Sincerely,

The Digital Reference TeamLibrary of Congress

“ The Library of Congress first began using email as a reference tool in 1994.”

The Essential Personality Piece

Elements to a good answer

1.Opening Greeting

2.Acknowledgement

3.Answer

4.Teach to Fish

5.Closing

Answer Checklist

personable interaction is essential

•Resource not immediately available

•Librarian needs time to locate info

•Technical problems

•Abrupt disconnect

Email reference as follow-up

•It’s here to stay

•Web forms seem to be preferred

•Good for follow-up

•Key Recommendations:

•Use two (or more) resources in your answer

•Have a team schedule for timeliness

•Methods and training for answering offer consistency

Why email again?

Julie Strangejulie.strange@gmail.comhttp://strangelibrarian.org

Cathay Crosbyccrosby@askusnow.info

Anything else we can help you with?

www.askusnow.info/presentations

Credits

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/visualpanic/3217548336/• http://www.flickr.com/photos/gi/304120801/• http://twitter.com/TatianaToT/status/1755877472• http://www.flickr.com/photos/leecullivan/151076654• http://www.flickr.com/photos/ihtatho/627226315/• http://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/2811158662/• http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanfranannie/3116688849/• http://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/1359721335/• http://www.flickr.com/photos/shaughnessy/403616727• http://www.flickr.com/photos/rooreynolds/57187273/• http://www.flickr.com/photos/justabiggeek/2188910407• http://www.flickr.com/photos/darwinbell/878861772/• http://www.flickr.com/photos/beckbookman/428447215/ • http://www.flickr.com/photos/rainbowsherbert/3048327438/• http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_mistress/32302833/in/set-717735/• http://www.flickr.com/photos/10557450@N04/3399749179/• http://www.flickr.com/photos/northernstarandthewhiterabbit/3160544697/• http://vik.podbean.com/wp-content/blogs/3111/uploads/Question.jpg• http://www.flickr.com/photos/studiomuntz/2416895442/• http://www.flickr.com/photos/larskflem/167787693/• http://www.flickr.com/photos/jek-a-go-go/351022624/• http://www.flickr.com/photos/natgok/3402348794/ • http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/about/history/photos/bldg4/view• http://en.kioskea.net/faq/sujet-179-how-to-write-a-cover-letter#closing-the-letter• http://www.teachinglibrarian.org/email.htm• http://blogcalabasas.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/469/files/2007/09/CTRservicesMain_small.jpg