[Publib] RE: customer service

[Kathy Berggren]

Your input please...

My reference staff is split in a hot debate over the level of customer
service we provide to visitors from other communities.  Specifically, how
far do we go out of our way to be accommodating to visitors from other
libraries or non library card holders from anywhere?

Last year, about 1/3 of our 24,000+ computer users were from other
communities.  Our computer reservation software is SAM from Comprise.  The
debate is over extending time for visitors who get 30 minutes on a visitors
pass compared to 90 minutes for our own Matteson Public Library card
holders.

The majority of those involved want to reset the parameters so that at the
end of the visitors 30 minutes, the computer would log out and they would
have to log in again, dependent on the total time we determine they would be
allowed per day.

One lone staff member is arguing vehemently that that is poor customer
service because we are making the visitor from out of town do work that
wouldn't take that long for a staff member to do if we just refreshed their
time from the reference desk.

After listening to arguments from both sides yesterday, I'm wondering at
what point do we leave good customer service and just lay down and let the
user walk all over us?