1. NCLPA - North Carolina Library Paraprofessional Association 1 Customer Service: Focus on the Customer NCLA Regional Workshop NCLPA North Carolina Library Paraprofessional Association Thursday, April 22, 2010 Presented by Jackie Frye, Harnett County Public Library

2. NCLPA - North Carolina Library Paraprofessional Association 2 External Customers External customers are the people you deal with, either face-to-face or over the phone, who use your library’s resources. [Excerpted from Customer Service for Dummies by Keith Bailey and Karen Leland] External customer service is the service that employees give to outside clients, or those who use facilities or products

3. NCLPA - North Carolina Library Paraprofessional Association 3 Internal Customers An internal customer is anyone you count on or rely upon to complete a task or a function or to provide you with information so that you can get your job done…and anyone who counts on you to complete a task or function or to provide them with information so that they can get their job done. Internal customer service is the service we provide fellow employees and other departments within our own organization as well as suppliers and anyone else with whom we work to get our jobs done.

4. NCLPA - North Carolina Library Paraprofessional Association 4 Who are your Internal customers? Circulation desk employees Shelvers Cataloguers Reference librarian Children’s librarian Administrative assistants Custodians

5. NCLPA - North Carolina Library Paraprofessional Association 5 More internal customers? Booksellers Suppliers Equipment vendors Consultants MIS personnel

6. NCLPA - North Carolina Library Paraprofessional Association 6 Circle of Service external customer Library Board HRPaying bills Supplies vendor Building maintenance custodianshelver book vendor Process books Approve budget ITcirc

7. NCLPA - North Carolina Library Paraprofessional Association 7 What are the tangible benefits? Superior external customer service Positive employee morale Improved communication Teamwork Customer satisfaction

8. NCLPA - North Carolina Library Paraprofessional Association 8 What are the desirable behaviors? Friendliness Honesty Courtesy Respect for others Helpfulness Information sharing Positive attitude Effective communication Active listening

9. NCLPA - North Carolina Library Paraprofessional Association 9 Your Attitude Influences your behavior Determines the level of your job satisfaction Affects everyone you come in contact with Affects your job performance Is up to you

10. NCLPA - North Carolina Library Paraprofessional Association 10 Maintaining a Positive Attitude What affects your attitude? What can you do about it? Is enthusiasm contagious?

11. NCLPA - North Carolina Library Paraprofessional Association 11 Tips Begin with your perspective Enjoy helping Exceed your colleagues’ expectations Say thank you

12. NCLPA - North Carolina Library Paraprofessional Association 12 Thank You Organizations have more to fear from lack of quality internal customer service than from any level of external customer service. --Ron Tillotson