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Beverly J. Obert, Executive
Director
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Creating a YES culture @your library — Part 6
In this episode of creating a yes culture, I want to relate to you my
most recent experiences with Customer Service.
Recently, Feb. 3-8, I was in Quebec, Canada for a meeting of the OCLC
Members Council. While there, I experienced some marvelous customer service.
Every store entered I was met with “Bonjour.” When purchasing items everyone
was most helpful.
In an art store the owner saw my interest in a figure and told me the
story of the Inukshuk. After hearing the story, I had to purchase it for my
husband. If I had said I wasn’t interested, I am sure she would have just as
graciously left me to look around.
At another store, I was admiring some pottery. The lady there showed me all
three of the bowls that they had by the artist. The one I purchased was
wrapped with care in tissue paper, bubble wrap, and tape to hold it securely
while traveling home. She also wrote the name of the artist on the sales
slip so that I would have that information.
Every one at the hotel was so helpful and gracious. Always “Bonjour Madame”
and “How may I help you”. “Merci”, thank you, was heard just as often.
After a delightful trip, I returned to the U.S. and had to deal with U.S.
Customs. My traveling companions and I flew into Detroit, exited the plane,
and were herded into a room with an elevator at the end. We had to wait for
a customs agent to activate the elevator, which we entered to descend to a
lower level. Several other international flights had arrived at the same
time from the Far East, Japan and/or India. We were hustled into lines, one
for people with foreign passports and one for U.S. citizens or resident
aliens. These lines were long but thankfully, customs staff manned nearly
all the gates. I was asked how long the trip was, why I went to Canada and
what OCLC did.
Then I had to find my luggage from the carousel and go through Customs
again where I reported on the items that I was bringing in with me. The
customs people were everywhere and even had a dog sniffing out contraband
items. What a way to welcome visitors to the U.S.
One lady was asked if she had any meat products, she said no. The customs
person asked her what she had in her box and she said, “canned corned beef.”
The customs lady then said, “You just told me you did not have any meat.” I
think the visitor was thinking fresh meat and not a canned product. This was
the type of thing going on everywhere in customs. It was obviously difficult
for some of the people to understand what they were being asked. I made it
through with little trouble, as the only items I brought in that were
questioned were some candy and maple syrup. I was able to go on to the next
checkpoint. Others though, if there was a question, had to go into another
room for a search of their luggage.
The next check point was to put our bags through security. Since it was
checked through, it only had to be loaded onto a conveyor that would take it
to the bowels of the airport for a security check and then on to the
airplane. I, however, had to go through the airport security. This meant
taking off the coat, boots, putting my purse and carry on bag through x-ray.
For me it was relatively easy as I understood the language and could read
the signs. However, for those visitors from other countries it was not as
easy. One gentleman did not understand when asked to take off his shoes. The
agent had to pantomime the action before he understood. Once through, I
waited for my traveling companions and observed the screenings. Several
people were detained for extra screening as something they were wearing set
off the metal detectors. One young woman from India had a beautiful
traditional dress with gold threads on the sleeves and down the front. Every
time the wand came near the decoration it went off and the agent had to pat
her down.
I kept wondering. “What were these people, visitors to our country, thinking
about the United States?” I saw no smiles on the agent’s faces and heard one
agent say, “They’re in rare form today.” I wondered what would happen if the
agents just smiled and said “Please” and “Thank you” a few times to the
people they were greeting. I know they have a job to do and it is a tough
one, but courtesy does not cost and can go a long way to making people feel
more welcomed to our country.
If you haven’t signed up for the Copyright sessions, there is still room.
The links are below. If you have signed up but have not sent your questions
in, please do so soon. The deadline for those questions is Feb. 26th.
Mark your calendars and register for the session you wish to attend. Note
that there is a separate registration for on-site or online sessions. The
session for
Special librarians is 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM (@RPLS
or
OPAL) and
School librarians from1:00 – 3:30 PM (@RPLS
or
OPAL)on
March 13. Those for
Public
Librarians are at 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM (@RPLS
or
OPAL) and
Academic librarians from 1:00 – 3:30 PM (@RPLS
or
OPAL) on
March 14. Check out
RPLS CLeO for details and to register for the workshops.
“Funding for Creating a Yes Culture grant was awarded
by the Illinois State Library (ISL) a Division of the Office of the
Secretary of State, using funds provided by the Institute of Museum and
Library Services (IMLS), under the Federal Library Services and Technology
Act (LSTA)”.
Rolling Prairie Library System
A Library for Librarians
Helping Libraries Serve Illinois Citizens |