BackTalk: Too Much Customer Service?

Library staff are largely dedicated to doing good work, providing good service. For many, sharing a passion for books, media, and information is part of the joy and mission of the profession. Management and boards encourage this service orientation with concepts like, "The customer is king" and "Do what it takes." Patrons invariably expect service that resembles what they experience elsewhere. However, good customer service is difficult to define. When is enough, enough?

Given an environment where service may be overdelivered but customers are satisfied, it is tempting to think there are no problems. However, my experience suggests that this disconnect creates a breeding ground for unrealistic expectations. An "expectation," the right of customers to expect some level of service based on an express or implied promise, is quite different from "wishful thinking," which expresses what consumers would want in a perfect world. Service moves from wishful thinking to expectation when library staff let patrons believe their "wish" will come true on a regular basis.

I asked participants at my Library Customer Service Seminars to list five patron expectations that their library never intended to fulfill. The top five included babysitting and free and immediate service. Also noted was the expectation that staff will do things for patrons and that staff time is for the patrons' command. Staff members recognize these results, yet few directors want to either directly challenge or formally endorse such expectations.

Undefined service boundaries take a toll beyond individual moments of service. For instance, staff may overdeliver to one patron at the expense of others. Staff time can be diverted unconsciously from activities that are part of the strategic plan. Patrons may perceive variable service as staff interpret service differently. An unhealthy dynamic can develop when a staffer with particular expertise shows off. Staff can start to profile patrons, shying away from those seen as most demanding. Worse, a new "floor" for service standards can emerge from unrealistic expectations. Long term, staff are likely to burn out from the pressure of working with no boundaries.

Ironically, library directors are largely out of the loop on authorizing or managing new service levels that evolve quietly under the "cover" of providing good service. However, allowing an unregulated service environment sets library staff up for failure. At some point patrons will develop expectations that cannot be met or that staff will decide not to meet. Addressing the problem is not optional. When it comes to customer expectations, service providers must meet them or change them.

An initiative to reconstruct customer expectations should take back control of the service environment and use staff more efficiently. The first is to conduct a zero-based review of services. This often yields surprises, especially when thorough and candid. The management team and staff then determine what services to offer. Throughout, engage staff in the process. To build staff consensus, top management commitment is essential.

"Outside-the-box" thinking is critical. Recognize that the library doesn't need to provide all desired services. For example, to eliminate "babysitting" consider establishing a relationship with a local day-care facility willing to take drop-off children for an hourly fee. Next, define standards. Standards allow staff to be trained to deliver services to objective criteria.

Last, evaluate and update service delivery to ensure that subsequent customer satisfaction efforts are coherent. Guaranteeing success requires a willingness to change as mission and patron needs shift.

Patrons are already "trained" to expect current levels of customer service or to ask for more, regardless of the impact around them. The challenge is to "retrain the patron." One way is through something I call a Significant Emotional Event, which shakes up the paradigm of rules, opening a window for a new context. The announcement of a major plan to review and restructure staff services may serve as such an event.

Another stratagem refocuses benefits on the entire organization and all users. Tactically, this emphasizes that the reconfigured services are designed to ensure that all patrons are treated well and helps patrons accept the change to come. Libraries will always be service-oriented. A system of services with standards, boundaries, and inherent flexibility will help libraries emerge more customer service–effective than ever.