You Can’t Teach Nice: Retail Management Strategies for Enhanced Library Customer Service

Abstract

As competition increases for library budgets and people question the relevance of libraries for information gathering, customer service is the difference between satisfied patrons who look to the library for information and dissatisfied patrons who view professional information services as a roadblock and an irrelevance in the age of Google. Positive patron interactions forge library stakeholders who will remember “above and beyond” access services interactions. This presentation will discuss retail management customer satisfaction strategies from companies such as Starbucks, Disney, and Ritz Carlton, and how to import them to a library environment, with a focus on training and change management, to ensure patron satisfaction and return patronage to your library. The presenter has nearly 15 years of retail, restaurant, and library management experience.