Delighting the Customer: It's the Little things that Count

Happy Monday, everyone. As we slide into Week 5, just a week away from our Annual Team meeting, I wanted to take this opportunity to focus (myself) on customer service.

I'm a big fan of the Tom Peters Weblog. He provides small nuggets of inspiration each day to my Google Reader, and when collected with the other 200 or so feeds that I receive in a day, make a fine bit of meditation reading. Today's gem was about customer service:

"As I said, now, more than ever. I suggest, for example, that you devote most of your "morning meeting" or "weekly phone call" to the "little" things—from clean restrooms to deliveries made or missed to thank-you calls to a customer for her business after an order ships.

Keep on each other over those basics—and be liberal with the kudos for those who go an extra millimeter to do a "trivial" job especially well."

The basics are incredibly important. Let's look at it from the perspective of a customer. Do you get easily frustrated or disappointed when someone is late for a meeting or misses a call with you? What if they don't show up for the meeting at all, even though they'd already said they'd come? Have you waited on an e-mail for weeks without response?

Have you ever visited a library and been upset because the thing you wanted was in the wrong location? Or, gone to a store that was a mess? Does uncleanliness, poor service, or disorganization stress you out?

Now, turn a critical eye to your own services and practices. Do you return calls and respond to e-mails within a 24 hour period (this is not only good business practice, it's also our service policy to students). Do you respond in this time frame JUST to students? Remember that your fellow librarians, as well as staff, faculty, and community members are your customers, too.

How does your library look today? Is scratch paper available for folks to take notes? Are the printer trays full of paper? Are chairs neatly pushed in and trash off of the floors and tables? Have you dusted lately? Are your books neatly organized or do they look hap-hazard?

Turn a critical eye to your desk. If a patron asked you for a form, a pencil, a business card, or a handout, could you immediately pick it up and hand it to them?

Do you turn in your reports on time? Remember that the people who ask for the reports aren't just collecting them for fun; the data is used for assessment and meeting additional deadlines/responsibilities. Do you attend calls and meetings on time, and take good notes?

Do you smile to patrons and welcome them to the library as they walk in? Do you say goodbye as they leave? How do you answer the phone? Are your e-mails courteous or do you merely answer the questions asked as briefly as possible?


I'm not saying that I'm perfect in any of these areas: in fact, I've caught myself not paying attention to these basics many times over the past few days, which prompted this post.

What other basics do we need to follow to delight our customers?

-Emily