Delivering Quality Service: A Customer-centric Approach * Sanjay Degloorkar Assistant Librarian Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow

About the Institute The Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow is one of the six national level management institutes set up the Government of India. The institute’s mission is “to help improve the management of the corporate and the non-corporate sectors and also the public systems, through pursuit of excellence in management education, research, consultancy and training”.

Activities Post Graduate Programme in Management Post graduate Programme in Agri-Business Management Fellow Programme in Management NOIDA center Management Development Programmes Research & Consultancy

Library – The Learning Resource Center Gyanodaya: Library – The Learning Resource Center "to promote knowledge generation and application through its effective dissemination".

Major Objectives of the Library   To support the learning process of the PGP/FPM/MDP students through provision of knowledge/information. To meet knowledge/information needs of the faculty, to support their teaching activities. To meet knowledge/information needs of the faculty and research staff to support their research activities. To respond effectively, where possible, to the knowledge/information needs of the Institute's client systems.

Stakeholders of the Library Resources Internal Customers Post Graduate Programme Students Books, Periodicals, E-Databases, Fellow Programme Students Faculty Members Books, Periodicals, Online Journals, E-Databases, Case Studies, VCDs, DVDs, Corporate Reports, Working Papers, Occasional Papers Research Associates External Customers Member of the Corporates/Industries/Government Bodies Books, Periodicals, Online Journals, E-Databases, Corporate Reports Members of the NGOs Books, Periodicals, Online Journals, E-databases Individuals Books, Periodicals

We should answer following questions? Are we delivering the services? Are we delivering Quality services? Are we able to understand the needs of our clienteles? How can we further improve our services to meet the customers expectations?

Vital Question of our (LIC Professional) existence depends on Customers not only need SERVICE but it should be QUALITY SERVICE. They are meticulous about their requirements Their queries are becoming very complex.

Circulation Circulation which was manual becomes automated. Barcode technology introduced to bring perfection and speed at circulation center. Transformation of card catalogue to OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue) through which user can search it with all parameters like Author, Title, Subject and in addition to that he can search the catalogue through combination search, or use of Boolean operators like AND, OR.or NOT. User gets the information right at the OPAC terminal if the document required by him is presently issued out. His time can be saved. OPAC can be installed on any node within the campus and can be access through LAN. User need not come physically to the library for knowing the availability of the documents but they can access the resources from their respective desktops.

Reprography Information Technology brought a revolutionary change in conventional services. It increases the speed as well as accuracy in document delivery service. User can get a printout of the relevant portion from the entire document. Retrieval of the information from the printed material was too time-consuming, but the online databases of the periodicals made it so easy. One can find out thousands of references on a particular term in just one click.

Experience 1 students of our institute are facing pressure of submission of reports. Earlier they use to spent eight to ten days in searching the relevant information from entire back issues of the journals and use to prepare there project report within a day or two on the basis of there search. They even could not search all the bound volumes. But online databases give them much more and much relevant information within eight to ten minutes. And they can prepare there project report by focusing the right approach.

Resource Sharing Conventional System of Resource Sharing: User need some reference/ document which is not available in the Library He approaches the Reference Librarian with a request. RL find out the source and write to the Librarian. Other Librarian use to take photocopy of the reference. He arranges to send it through post. RL use to get it in about 10 to 15 days time. User may have lost the interest. Non-Conventional System of Resource Sharing: User need some reference/ document. He can mail his request. RL will find out the source and will forward it to the appropriate library. Other Librarian can send it as an attachment. RL can forward it to the user concerned. User may get the reference within three to four hours.

Experience 2 One of our faculty members was looking for an article and he told me the reference. I (Sanjay) was chatting through messenger with one of my professional friend in Delhi and I pass it on to her through messenger. She was not having it in her library but her friend in Hyderabad was having it. She asks him to forward it to me. I got the reference just within five minutes. The faculty member who was there I ask him to check his mail for that article. He surprised by the speed and praise me like anything.

Current Awareness Services (CAS) Current Additions Information about the books added to the library during a month. Current Contents Information about the content pages of the journals received by the library during a week.

Customer Service Model At IIM, Lucknow library after all the Library Advisory Committee meetings, visits to other institutions, informal discussions among other staff of the institutions, the conversations among the information services staff about how to deal with this or that particular user. We have put together the facts gathered about customer expectations and perceptions. We have developed our own concept from a concept of Michael leBoeuf's statement which will enable it to change users' perceptions and expectations about the information services unit.

1. Develop a user profile At IIM-Lucknow Library, we have developed a user profile database based on the requirements of the internal and external customers needs and requirements, the particular department, they are teaching etc. Over the years, the library personnel so trained that they are able to judge that as a customer enters the library, they are able to judge what information he will looking for.

2. Look at the information services unit through the user's eyes The library professionals of the IIM-Lucknow tried to understand the service from the user’s point of view to judge their satisfaction levels and expectations levels too. Like what information the clients are looking for? Whether we have supplied correct information? The relevancy and timely delivery of the information is must.

3. Beware of overpromising and building unrealistic expectations In a very strategic, and polite way we respond to our customers. We never over promise any customers demand

4. Use problems as opportunities to demonstrate just how good the information services unit can be. We identify the problems and take it as a challenge to solve it, in the process we improved the services too.

5. Develop a unique relationship with your users and treat each one as someone special This is a very important component in IIM Lucknow Library, we develop a long term relationship with our users too. Most of our internal customers and library service providers staying in the campus so personal attachment and sense of belongingness always exist.

6. Keep in touch and keep them informed Keep posted their requirements, atleast their requirements”, this is the clarion call we always follow at IIM-Lucknow Library

7. Large part of good service is showbiz As part of the work we do, information services professionals not only have to make the users feel 'special' in their interactions with the information services unit, we want to make them feel good as well.

Conclusion At IIM, Lucknow Library we are always thinking and developing to retain customers relationship. Customer retention is our main motto. If a customer leaves us, we think ten times and analyze, why he has left us? And that brings the further improvement and modifications in those lacuna areas.

THANK YOU!!! ANY QUESTIONS