Cutting Edge Customer Service Techniques for

Libraries: Learning from FISH!® and Pickle

An Infopeople Workshop Spring-Summer 2005

Instructor: Cheryl Gouldgouldc@infopeople.org

What’s Today About?

Creating a win-win situation more enjoyable work happy customers

Two customer service approaches The FISH! PHILOSOPHY® Give Em the Pickle

Visible Values

What are the visible values in your library?

When customers: walk in the door interact with equipment interact with staff

Redefine Customer Service

Put yourself in their shoes not reactive or proactive but interactive

Attitude is everything- customer is not an interruption

Everyone teaches Flexible – the customer doesn’t know

your roles!!! Role is defined by the needs of the

work not by a job description

Bring Your Whole Self to Work

70% of your time is spent on work related tasks, why not make it better

How are you being when you’re doing what you love?

What hidden talents could you bring to work?

Infopeople has received written authorization from ChartHouse Learning to hold this event

Contact ChartHouse Learning for further information. Toll-free # is 800.328.3789 Website: www.charthouse.com

ChartHouse Learning owns and retains all rights, interest, title, copyrights, and trademarks.

The FISH! Philosophy®

Play™

Be There™

Make Their Day™

Choose Your Attitude™

Play

Look for productive play in your environment

What dull or routine tasks can you make more fun?

Play should not: exclude others (not being there) offend people (not being there)

“Life is what happens while you're making other

plans. “

John Lennon

Be There

Be present while you’re doing what you’re doing

Listen for content AND emotion doesn’t take any more time

Don’t let tasks get in the way of your real work of serving the customer

Antidote to being tired is being fully present (not necessarily doing less)

Make Their Day

Make the world a better place to be one person at a time

Something unexpected

Don’t exclude the difficult co-workers or customers

Make it a challenge to do everyday!

Choose Your Reaction

Stop blaming kids parents co-workers customers management

When you look for the worst, you’ll find it everywhere

Choose Your Attitude

Be the person you want to spend time with!

It’s not about being happy all the time If you don’t believe you have a

choice… you don’t Be responsible for your attitude, it’s

contagious

Take Responsibility

Instead of: "Why are they making us go through all this change?"

Try: "How can I adapt to my changing world?“ Instead of: “When are my people going to Instead of: “When are my people going to

communicate better?" communicate better?"

Try: "What can I do today to understand Try: "What can I do today to understand them?"them?"

Aboriginal Knowledge

“Each child is named at birth, but it is understood that as a person develops, the birth name will be outgrown, and the individuals will select for themselves a more appropriate greeting. Hopefully, one’s name will change several times in a lifetime as wisdom, creativity, and purpose also become more clearly defined with time.”

From “Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan

Give Em the Pickle Service - Business isn’t what you sell, it’s

serving people. What’s your pickle?

Attitude – customer is the boss. How you think about them is how you will treat them

Consistency – non-negotiable high standards. Ordinary people doing extraordinarily well

Teamwork – group of people that go out of their way to make each other look good

Why FISH!© Why Pickle?

Improve service

Accountability

Encourage creativity and innovation

Make work environment fun recruitment and retention

Bringing It Back to the Library

Have a Plan!

What is the inspiration for doing Pickle or FISH!©

How does it relate to the libraries mission?

Who are the leaders (formal and informal) and are they “on board”

Who will be introduced to Pickle or FISH!®

how will you do it

With Your Staff

Show the video

Discuss, don’t tell

Invite people to participate Talk about how it works for you

use your own language Let them tell you how to implement Model the behavior you want to see!

Change

What are the risks of changing?

What are the risks of NOT changing?

What’s Keeping You From

Changing?

Challenges to Expect

1. I can’t do it2. What if nobody else does it3. They won’t let me do it4. This is silly5. We’re too busy to play6. We don’t have anything to throw7. Leave me alone

Encourage Change

Attitude starts with one person and usually attracts others

Allow people to share doubts

Can’t be forced

It doesn’t happen overnight

“The future is unknown

The past is finished

Right now is your opportunity to be

whatever you want to be

This moment and the moment after”Thich Nhat Hanh