Providing Excellent Customer Service in a Multi-Cultural Environment

Multicultural Customers »Customers that belong to or identify with a variety of different groups, subgroups, or cultures. »Customers that reflect different cultures or distinct ways of life.

Have you heard questions like these at your library? How much does this book cost? Are these videos for rent? Can anybody come to the story hour? These are probably questions asked by your multicultural customers.

Assumptions As librarians we tend to assume that everyone understands what a public library does and how it functions. But people who grew up in other parts of the world may not know that a public library lends books or they may have never encountered a public library at all.

Create simple, clear and concise marketing materials that… Explain that a public library lends books, it does not sell them. Describe loan periods, overdue notices and fines and fees and other user responsibilities. Tell people that all library services and programs are free and everyone is welcome. Describe specific library services that respond to their needs.

Diversity & Culture Diversity: All the physical and cultural ways in which people differ and the effect of those differences on our thinking and behavior. Culture: The shared assumptions, values and beliefs of a group of people which results in characteristic behaviors.

Course objective This course will introduce you to the basics of how diversity and culture impact your understanding of and response to your multicultural customers.diversityculture

You will learn to… Understand the perspectives that people from different cultures bring to the library experience and to customer service. Understand how cultural differences impact customer service. Apply a number of basic strategies and communication skills to work effectively with multicultural customers.

While it is not possible to learn the language or customs of ALL of our diverse customers… We can learn how people are different We can learn to understand those differences We can learn how to deal with them effectively

Cultural awareness begins with understanding… Your own culture Your customer's culture The impact that different cultural perspectives can have on the library/customer experience.

Exploring Differences When we take the time to explore our differences we are communicating respect for the other person, their identity, and their culture. The more we know about cultural differences, the more comfortable we will feel in serving a multicultural community.

Making Generalizations Generalizations tell us something about groups, not about specific individuals within a group.

A generalization can give us a good idea of how people from a different culture MAY behave It won't tell us how they WILL behave Nor does it tell us that they will ALWAYS behave that way

Internal Dimensions of Diversity The internal dimensions of diversity consist of factors over which we have no control.

Internal Dimensions of Diversity include: Race Ethnicity Gender Physical Ability Sexual Orientation Age

External Dimensions of Diversity The external dimensions of diversity include factors over which we have some control.

External dimensions of diversity include: Educational Background Religion Recreational Habits Personal Habits Income Geographic Location Marital Status Parental Status Appearance Work Experience

Organizational Dimensions of Diversity The organizational dimensions of diversity include job-related factors that impact the assumptions we make about the people we work with, the expectations that we have of them and their performance, and often the type of opportunities available to them.

Organizational dimensions of diversity include: Functional Level/Classification Work Content/Field Division/Department/ Unit/Group Seniority Work Location Union Affiliation Management Status

LEARNING CULTURAL RULES Cultural rules are not written down anywhere. We absorb these rules unconsciously. We only become aware of them when we meet someone who behaves under a different set of rules.

We learn the cultural rules that shape our cultural identity through: Our parents—they are the first ones who reward us with smiles and praise when we follow the rules or scold us if we don’t Our ethnicity—the ethnic group we identify with or the language we speak Our race—the racial group we identify with Our religion—the organized denomination or sect we belong to Our education—the level and type of education we have attained Our profession or work—the type of work we have been trained to do The organizations or groups we belong to—the Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts, the military, etc.

Cultural Assumptions We see, interpret and evaluate that person’s behavior based on our own cultural rules and we make assumptions about that person’s behavior. We assume that their cultural rules are the same as ours and sometimes we make mistakes.

10 Areas of Cultural Programming: Sense of Self and Space Communication and Language Dress and Appearance Food and Eating Habits Time and Time Consciousness Relationships Values and Norms Beliefs and Attitudes Mental Processes and Learning Work Habits and Practices

Examples: We may interpret a smile as meaning that the person is friendly because that is how we were programmed. Someone from an Asian culture may have been programmed to smile when they are uncomfortable or nervous or confused.

Americans see time as a commodity - It is quantifiable and there is a limited amount of it North Europeans and Asians value punctuality Latin American and Middle Eastern cultures are more relaxed about time

Tips for Creating a Positive Experience for the Customer Make it Visual Show-and-Tell Use Their Language Take It Easy Keep It Simple Say It Again Assume Confusion Get Help Walk in Their Shoes Smile

Presentation made possible by the Titusville Library Staff

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