Ms. Manager Considers Customer Service

Librarians can give pickles too!

(Media Partners, 2011)

"Our business is not what we sell, it's the people we serve." 

-- Bob Farrell 

(Media Partners, 2011)

Once upon a time, I worked as a student worker on my Undergraduate campus one summer to assist with the set up, break down, and oversight of on campus functions. Camps, reunions and special guests stayed in campus housing during the summer and I was one of ten people in charge of making sure their rooms were prepped, and they felt welcome and supported on our campus. In our training, we were taught to "give them the pickle," going the extra mile to make sure our guests were happy with the services we provided. 

In many ways, managers (and the librarians under them for sure) are customer service representatives in their institution. Patrons arrive seeking goods and services, and want the best service for their money. Even though the transaction is free in the moment, patrons deserve high quality service (and will expect it to keep them coming back)! Managers, as the inspiration for their staff and in their own interactions with patrons, can take a lesson from Bob Farrell. 

High quality servers make the customer their number one priority, just like market-oriented libraries (Evans & Alire, 2013).  Just like any other business, happy customers will come back, and they will bring friends. Happy patrons will return again and again and they won't be shy about sharing with their friends and neighbors about the wonderful things people can do and receive at the library. In my library now, people bring friends and family members to meet our library and librarians always coming in the door gushing about the wonderful space we provide because we put customer service at the top of our priority list every single day. Why? Because people get individualized attention (one of our pickles) at our library, and as part of a small community, our regular and returning patrons are known by face and by name. As someone walks in the door, we've already collected their items from the hold-shelf for them by the time they've reached the desk (another one of our pickles). Our library is a community in and of itself, and it is because our director and ever librarian there knows that "giving pickles" is a key to success.