RPL Netguides Training:Customer Service

Andrea Mercado, Netguides Supervisor

Netguides = customer service + teaching

*Great* Customer Service means:

• Taking ordinary to extraordinary

• Going above and beyond

• Being at your best with every customer

• Surprising yourself with how much you can do

• Taking care of the customer like you would take care of your grandmother (assuming you like her a *lot*)

We want to offer GREAT customer service

Make The Great Customer Service Entrance

• Smile!

• Make eye contact and ask, “How may I help you today?”

• LOOK at the person as you speak to them, if possible

• Give them 100% of your attention

• Hear out the question

• Is there a queue? Acknowledge and give a timeline

Teaching is hard. For serious.• Typical issues for teachers include:

– Talking to/in front of people is sometimes scary

– Varying abilities or disabilities

– Distractions

– Lots of questions

– Problems listening

– Problems understanding

– Disinterest in learning

– Communication is unclear (speed, accent, charged, unorganized, etc.)

Important qualities in a teacher• PATIENCE!

• Communicates well: listens attentively, speaks clearly

• Asks good questions to help the learner

• Maintains a positive attitude

• Comfortable with admitting, “I don’t know”

• Avoids technical terms, or explains them clearly/with analogies

• Gives the learner a feeling of confidence in the teacher

• Makes the learner feel important and (at least a bit more) confident

• Soothes ruffled feathers

Active Listening

• Listen to what the learner is asking or saying

• Repeat back to them what they are saying, using your own words, to verify that you understand*

• If necessary, break the question/issue down into smaller phrases as you repeat back

• Ask questions to suss out what you’re missing

• Proceed to answer or address the issue

• Rinse and repeat

*[Absolutely DO NOT interrupt when you are active listening, except if the patron has gone into Broken Record Mode]

Questions that help you help them

• Open Questions

– Solicit more than “yes,” “no,”

or one-word responses

– Get ‘em talkin’

– General information

– Lead into what, how, why

– Example: “What can I help you

with today?”

• Closed Question

– Just “yes,” “no,” or 1-word

– Limit talking, control direction

– Specific information

– Lead into who, when, did,

which, would, are, can, have,

do, is, will, and may

– Example: “Does the floppy

make a crunchy noise?”

Even if you’re frowning on the inside

• Smile, even if you don’t feel like it

• Accentuate the positive

– Negative: “You have to remember to save often, or else you’ll lose your work.”

– Positive: “By saving often, you’ll always know that you’ll have the most recent version of your file, and you won’t lose your work.”

• Make sure you eat well and get lots of rest

• Remember: this interaction has an end point

• Can’t smile anymore? Take a break

Zen and the art of intelligent ignorance

• Don’t know the answer? It’s OK!

– Say, “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure”

– Ask the librarian for help

– Refer to the handouts and books

– Try to figure out the answer

– Leave me a note or post a Message and we’ll talk about it

Rah! Rah! Go learner!

• Encourage the learner when they’re on the right track

• Give praise when a task is completed correctly

• Building rapport builds confidence in the ability of both you and the learner

– Use the customer’s name

– Be polite

– Show interest and empathy

– Give the learner options

Jargonese: your special language, not theirs

• Jargon = slang: a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves); "they don't speak our lingo“

• Slang = informal nonstandard vocabulary composed of invented words, changed words, and exaggerated or humorous figures of speech

• Define jargon using another familiar word or phrase

– memory vs. RAM

– “computer space” vs. hard drive

• Use analogies for really technical stuff

No, really, the answer is “NO!” but nicely.• When you can’t fulfill a learner’s request:

1. Explain the reason, but stay positive

2. Show empathy

3. Let the learner know what you can do, offer an alternative solution

– “I’m sorry, I can’t drive the mouse for you. By having you drive the mouse, we help you learn to be independent.”

– “I’m sorry, I can’t come to your house for computer help, my role is only here at the library. But you can always make another appointment for more help.”

Who counts as a ornery patron?

• Frustrated no matter how well you do

• Can’t stay focused, mad/annoyed when you don’t indulge them

• Raised voice, or voice and tension seems to be escalating

• A patron who wants you to drive, and becomes snippy if you don’t

Wrangling the ornery

• Acknowledge their feelings

– “You seem… [frustrated, annoyed, tired]. How can I help?”

– “It’s OK, this is hard for many people. Let’s try again.”

• Offer them a 5-minute break

• Excuse yourself if you need to, and take a deep breath to clear your head

• Tell someone if you need help, or to get feedback/advice

• If the sitch is too tense, let another Netguide or the librarian try

Breaktime!

Activity: Amateur Architects

• Goal: Improve questioning and active listening skills

• Instructions:

– I’ll put you in pairs

– You each get a picture of a house

– 5 mins: “House A” person describes, “House B” person draws

– 5 mins: Compare “House A” picture to drawing together

– Switch

If the drawer asks an open question, give several details. If the drawer asks a closed question, only say yes, no, or a 1-word reply.

Activity: Pass It Along

• Goal: Improve digestion and use of complex explanations

• Instructions, round 1:

– First person: say message once, whisper in the ear of the person to your left

– Next person: Repeat the message to the next person as you understood it

– Last person: repeat message to the group

Pass It Along

• Instructions, round 2:

– First person: say message as an “I” statement

– Next person: confirm as a “You” statement

– Pass it along

– Last person: repeat message to the group