A Complaint Is A Gift Recovering Customer Loyalty When Things Go Wrong by Janelle Barlow and Claus Moller, 2nd Edition

A Complaint Is A Gift Recovering Customer Loyalty When Things Go Wrong, 2nd Edition by Janelle Barlow and Claus Moller

This book is about how to use complaints as a way to improve customer service and quality in corporations. Places like Zappos.com, Dell, Amazon, and IBM are covered. It would have been nice if they included material for nonprofits and government agencies.

A process of dealing with complaints called the "Gift Process" is described. It focuses on thanking the customer for the complaint, acting immediately, and getting feedback on how to improve service quickly. There are numerous examples of how to do this both verbally and in writing.

There are many other things covered as well; the proper way to complain to get results, why people do not complain, how to create goodwill, and how to interact with angry customers. The authors remind us that most people who complain are regular users of a service. Those who do not complain and are dissatisfied stop using your service.

I found the section on how to handle personal complaints and criticism interesting and potentially useful. There are guidelines for distinguishing between constructive criticism and personal attacks.

This book was recommended to me by a librarian at the Westchester Library Association conference. It is worth reading.

Putting Service Into Library Staff Training A Patron Centered Guide by Joanne M. Bessler

Putting Service Into Library Staff Training A Patron Centered Guide by Joanne M. Lesser is a very short book. It is 72 pages long with an index. The book was written in 1994, but much of what is being said is still relevant.

The reason I read this book was to find out the meaning of the term patron centered library. It starts with finding out what the three main groups which a library serves want, the (FAP) funders, administrators, and patrons. Then turning these wants into ways to serve them.

After finding out wants, the services needed are included in job descriptions, training and staff development, and rules and policies for interacting with patrons. Every level of staff throughout a library is to be made aware of the different services and promote them for the library. It is a philosophy of every staff member serving the patron at some level, very similar to the idea of every person in a company selling the company.

Some of the training suggested is listening and customer service training. I would imagine this might include active listening, knowledge elicitation techniques, patron problem solving, and dealing with complaints.

The next level of the document explains that service is a long term committment and has to be written into the mission statement of the organization as well as given staff rewards and recognition. In the end even things like convenient hours, appropriate material, adequate study space, and friendly staff are part of a service ethic.

There is a strong appeal to this book, Many people go into the library field to help people. It is a helping profession. This book brings together a kind of complete philosophy to bring the patron front and center. It also addreses many problems that are still quite relevant in libraries.

Feedback (Please Fight) (Suggestion Box)

Feedback (Please Fight)

I really liked the comment telling me my blog is tedious and needs to include a lot more of my own voice. I need to see more comments like this. I want combative statements about what I can do to improve this blog.

There has been an incredible drop in readership. Some people are calling what I am writing tedious and pedestrian. Reveal more about yourself and what you do. Liven things up.

Please take the time to comment on all aspects of this blog. Unless I see comments from you about what you want, I can't make this blog more to your liking. I want comments that make me think and force me to reveal things which I find interesting.

Controversy is a good thing for this site. I want to include material that is controversial. Please let me know what you think.

I was reading Impact by Ken McArthur and he says it perfectly about customer service. First you have to answer peoples needs. Then you have to listen to their suggesstions. If you have no suggestions for me to listen to, I can't give you more of what you want. Then you have to implement what people have suggested.

No feedback. No implementation. We keep a notepad at work at the reference desk. We write down books which we don't have on the notepad for purchase. We also make some comments on suggested ideas. The notepad is a hideous green color, but despite its color, it is still very useful.

Right now, I feel a little like I am begging for money. Amazon has a donation program where you can request money from bloggers. I would feel remiss to do this. http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=542032

I am not going to beg you for money. But, I do feel like I am going to request a little bit for feedback.