MLS Philosophies, Expectations, and Employee Responsibilities

By, Judith Walden, Deputy Director of MLS for Public Services (February, 2002)

This is an excellent explanation of our customer service philosophy and is included in the Managers of Library Operations Handbook.  When I came across it again recently, I realized that it is great information for all of us to re-read from time-to-time. -- Kay Bauman, 2012.

Seemingly little things can have a huge impact on a person’s life whether it be implementing a problem-solving procedure or making the right choices in serving our customers.

Customers – Who are they?

They are the citizens of Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County. They are our co-workers. Individuals who work and volunteer inside the library are internal customers. This includes people who work in the different departments, in all positions. External customers are people who use our library services.

Making the Right Choices

Every contact with the public is an opportunity to engender a positive attitude about the library. For the best possible customer service, each and every one of us needs to be empowered to take care of customer needs and problems, to make the right choices on our own. If you are the customer’s first point of contact, his entire attitude toward the library may depend on what kind of service experience he has with you. Even if you are not his first point of contact, you still have a tremendous impact on how he views the library. This holds for non-public-service [office] staff as well as public-service [library operations] staff. The choices that non-public-service employees make on the job make a difference in how well public-service staff is able to serve the library customer. The Business Office agrees to send customers refund checks for found materials that were coded lost and paid. They fill our purchase requests in a timely manner. They help us solve purchasing problems and budget problems. Automation [IT department] is constantly looking for ways to make our online catalogs easier for customers to use, improve computers and software, and quickly respond to our requests for help with technology problems. Cataloging sets standards for getting new materials to the libraries as quickly as possible so customers get them as soon as possible. They are responsive to suggestions from librarians for making materials easier to find.

We are aware that in order for you to feel confident in making customer service decisions, you need to be able to trust that you will not get into trouble for positive mistakes – that your manager will not punish you. So, to help you to make the right choices, here are some guidelines, principles and philosophies upon which to base your decisions. If you will use these to guide you, your likelihood of making the same decision that your manager would make, or that upper management would make, is greatly increased. By following these, we are all on the same track.

1. Every human being has intrinsic worth and is therefore deserving of your respect and polite and courteous treatment. As humans, we all have an inherent right to dignity. You are making the right choices when you act in a way that makes customers feel welcome and important. One of the easiest ways to be sure someone feels welcome is to treat him as if he were your best friend. When a customer walks in your door or calls you on the phone, simply act as if he is a dear and valued friend. The most effective way to do this is to listen, really listen. Special training is provided by MLS to achieve this core competency.
2. Always assume good intentions unless proven otherwise – this goes for customers, fellow employees, anyone and everyone. Who are we to say someone just wants to get away without paying his fine? How do you know that a particular customer is just trying to get out of paying for lost books? How is it that we think that child’s request is just an attempt to get us to do his homework? How do you know that scruffy looking man over there is just plain up to no good? If you can put a negative slant on a request, you can also find a positive one. If you must draw a conclusion, choose a positive one. If you are interacting with a customer and you have doubt in your mind – perhaps you are wondering if he really returned the book, does he really live in this service area, was that book really checked out in that condition? Err on the side of service – It is better to make an occasional mistake in favor of the customer than to deny legitimate services for fear of making a mistake. This leads us to guideline #3.
3. It is not our place to judge the customer or evaluate the importance of his request. If a mother wants a library card for her 2-year old child, our only concern should be, how quickly and courteously we get the card into that child’s hands. The child’s age should not prevent him from getting a card. What should matter is that he is excited and happy to be getting the card. Though a young child may not yet be reading by himself or able to write his own name, his attitude toward the library and love of reading can be affected for life by how you treat him when he comes for his first library card. If you find yourself reacting negatively to a customer request (whether it is a co-worker or library user), ask yourself why? Why do I think this is unreasonable? Why does it irritate me? Why does it tick me off? Examine your answer. If it starts with “He should or he shouldn’t” or “I’ve already answered that question a hundred times today” or “That’s a stupid question” or “Why does he want to know that?” You are probably reacting to a personal irritation or you are judging. It is not our place to judge others. The public library belongs to the public, give it to them. And if you’ve had a bad day or night and this is preventing you from meeting standards for interacting with customers, seek help. Ask a co-worker to work the desk while you put yourself into a service frame of mind. If the problem is recurring, take advantage of the many help options the library has to offer – training, self-help books and our Employee Assistance Program.
4. Every question is legitimate. We may not be able to answer them all but a customer is not a criminal just for asking a question. If you find yourself resenting a customer for asking what you feel is a stupid or unreasonable question, ask yourself why? We are here to serve the customers, not judge them. Be glad he has enough confidence in his library to ask. Be glad he thought to come to us. Be glad he expects us to help him. That is a compliment. Remember that he has already paid for the library with his taxes. More importantly, he is a valuable human being.
5. I’m sure we are all familiar with the cliched business slogan “the customer is always right”. Well, the customer is not always right and we know that. But the customer is always the customer. We are only stewards, here to make it accessible to him. The library is not ours to be hoarded and protected. The library belongs to the customer. It is his. He has ALREADY paid for it. Unless used, it is worthless. What good are books and materials that sit on the shelves unused? Their ONLY value is in service to customers.
6. Service rules and policy are necessary tools to help maintain order and fairness and guide us in our management of services to library users. They are not sacrosanct. Strict adherence to service rules is not the end goal of library service. Their purpose is to help us achieve our service goals. Sometimes service rules need to be creatively interpreted in order to make the right choices. The Public Services Administration gives you not only permission, but the responsibility to make judgments in applying service rules to help library users.
7. Losses are expected. Success means there will be some losses. In the private sector, it is called cost of doing business. Private companies expect losses from breakage, theft and non-payment of accounts. But successful businesses make up the losses by virtue of their success and they are most successful when they treat the customer right. Our losses are minimal. Less than 3 tenths of a % per year through circulation. You have Public Services Administration’s permission to accept customer statements that the library made a mistake as true. We ask you to use your judgment to negotiate partial payment in situations of hardship or even cancel fines. We can’t provide good library service if we are obsessed with recovering every nickel owed in fines or payment for every worn out book at the expense of excessive staff time and customer bad will. In the end, it costs more to recover the losses than the losses themselves.

We charge you with the responsibility to make positive, supportive service decisions based on these principles and guidelines. If you make a mistake, your manager might talk to you about handling it differently next time. You can look at this as punishment or you can see it as a positive opportunity to grow. But HOW you view this encounter is up to you. Eleanor Roosevelt said, ”No one can make you feel inferior without your consent”. Which means only you have responsibility for your feelings. You can choose to feel bad, sad, or angry. Or you can choose to feel good, positive, or happy. You can make someone a villain or you can make him a saint – all by how you direct your thoughts. The Metropolitan Library System chooses to see our customers as basically good, worthy, deserving, valuable human beings to be treated with dignity at all times, never patronized. Our purpose is to provide them excellent library services. Our purpose is not to collect every fine; to enforce every service rule without exception; to make sure nobody “gets away with something.” Our purpose is not to punish anyone. Our purpose is to do the best we can to make sure our customers get what they want and need from their library.

Here is a story to emphasize a point:

Steve Littleman was a presenter of a program on the American Indian for MLS staff as part of our cultural diversity training. He was asked by a staff member about ways staff should interact with American Indian customers. We wanted to know if there is something we should know in greetings, signs of respect or disrespect to help us serve people better. This is what this Native American library customer said to us: It all boils down to – when you come to a place for the first time, what do you hope is said to you to make you feel comfortable, not scared? When ever we come to a place for the first time, we are a little uncomfortable, a little scared. Let them know you are glad they are there. If you’re in the people business, you’ve got to be a people person. If you had a bad night, it’s not their fault, it’s yours. What you do is put on that smiling face; you do all you can, all you are supposed to do to take care of business. And if you can’t do that, my friend, you’d better look for another job. Because you’re going to be miserable as all get out. When you work with people, you come in contact with all kinds. Some may make you want to wring their neck. But you can’t do that. Afterwards, you go into the bathroom and bang the walls.

No we don’t really recommend that you bang the walls – though that is preferable to loosing it with the customer. But we wish to reinforce what Steve Littleman said – If you don’t like people, find another job right now. The library is not about quiet, secluded, safe employment where you don’t have to talk to very many people or deal with problems. The library IS about people – all kinds or people with all kinds of expectations and all kinds of problems over which you have absolutely no control. But you do have control of your own behavior and your own reactions and your own feelings. You need to be focused on the “other”, the customer, the co-worker, not yourself. While you are on the job at MLS, you are expected to behave and perform in a professional manner.

So, what does that mean?

• We expect you to treat others with utmost courtesy at all times, people (from birth to 100+) who use or might use the libraries’ services (external customers) or fellow employees (internal customers).
• We expect you to deal with your personal problems in an appropriate manner that does not include letting them negatively affect your job performance. The customer should never be made to suffer less than excellent service because of your problems.
• We expect you to welcome each and every customer who comes into the library and to behave as if you are glad they are there, to welcome their questions, to make eye contact and smile at them.
• We expect you to dress in a professional manner, meaning that your clothes are neat and clean and not extreme – no shorts, extremely short dresses, halter tops, ragged jeans, etc. You are a library representative. One way we show our respect for our customers is by dressing professionally.
• We expect you to exhibit professional behavior at all times in public areas while on the job. That means you do not discuss personal opinions, problems, or gripes on the public floor. And you do not discuss customers on the public floor except in such cases where you have a legitimate business purpose – when there is a need to seek help from co-workers in order to serve that customer. You never, never slam, deride, criticize, bad-mouth the library on the public floor. What you do on your own time, away from the library is legally your own business. But I encourage you to make the right choices in how you talk about the library off the job. Be professional in your behavior and comments because, even off the job, you still represent the library to all who associate you with it. If you have a gripe or dissatisfaction with any aspect of the library, the ethical and honorable way to deal with it is to go through internal channels that are available to you.

Many of the things discussed here are outlined in your job performance standards – especially the first 40 points (out of 100) that are shared by all MLS job positions. It is your responsibility to make sure you read, learn, know and understand what is expected of you in your job as expressed in your performance standards. Your job performance will be evaluated based on them. If you have any questions, make an appointment to discuss them with your supervisor. If you still have questions, ask the Human Resources Department or go to your supervisor’s supervisor.

It is your responsibility to make sure you are educated to perform your job correctly. If you feel you have gaps in your training or knowledge, discuss it with your supervisor so you can plan needed training. In addition, read. You work for a library and there is a wealth of resources at your disposal. It is your responsibility to seek knowledge that will help you perform your job adequately. If you seek to excel on the job, to go above what is expected and required by gaining additional knowledge that benefits library service to customers, this will be recognized and rewarded. On the other hand, if you have personal issues that interfere with your ability to perform your job, it is your responsibility to seek help. The library system offers an Employee Assistance Program, which assists employees at no cost, with life problems that can interfere with their ability to do a good job at work. It is your responsibility to access that service if you feel you need it. Also, as I already mentioned, there is a wealth of resources in the library to help you with job improvement, self-improvement and life improvement, and customer service such as the Customer Service Recommended Reading List provided by the Public Services Administration.

One day a library manager called to say her Circulation Clerk told her that she wished we would have been using the “Materials Returned Damaged” form a year ago. It seems that a customer came in who had not used her card in over a year because another agency claimed that she had not returned a CD but she knew she had. As it turned out, she had returned the item but the booklet was missing. For over a year, this customer had been upset with the library and hadn’t used her library card. The reason she hadn’t called the library to discuss this was because she has a bad speech impediment and was embarrassed to talk. The Clerk said if we would have been using the “Materials Returned Damaged” form, this would have been a very minor issue for the customer and us.

About Judy

Judy Walden worked for MLS from 1977-2004 as reference librarian, library manager, Public Services manager and deputy director. After 27 years at MLS, Walden became something of an institution and her paper entitled “MLS Philosophies, Expectations, and Employee Responsibilities” remains our foundation of customer service.

ShelfLife, December 2004 issue includes an interview with Judy just before she retired.