[Publib] Brief and possibly muddled meditation on "customer service"

[Judith Turner]

Since I've posted a couple of messages on the topic of customer service I'll refrain from saying all the same things all over again with the exception of a fervent plea for libraries not to adopt the appalling business model used throughout nearly all sectors of our economy today.

Meantime this comment of John's surprised me: Quoting John <jrichmond at alphapark.org>: I I checked in at a kiosk (a word I'd never heard
until I returned to library school, briefly, circa 1994...May it's one of those words more popular in certain regions than in others
(soda vs. pop, davenport vs. sofa, etc.) but I've heard it modified by newstand, subway, bus stop, and all sorts of other words for years, long before America's marketing geniuses took it over as a loss cost alternative to human assistance.  Here's what I found at:

http://www.answers.com/topic/kiosk?cat=technology

Kiosk
Mfg of High Quality Kiosk Systems 3 Year Onsite Warranties Available 
SeePoint.com
n.

   1. A small open gazebo or pavilion.
   2. A small structure, often open on one or more sides, used as a newsstand or booth.
   3. A cylindrical structure on which advertisements are posted.

[French kiosque, from Turkish kö&#351;k, from Middle Persian g&#333;shak, corner, from Avestan *gaoshaka-, diminutive of gaosha-, ear.]

WORD HISTORY   The lowly kiosk where newspapers are sold or advertisements are posted is like a child in a fairy tale raised by humble parents but descended from kings. The word kiosk was originally taken into English from Turkish, in which its source kö&#351;k meant “pavilion.” The open structures referred to by the Turkish word were used as summerhouses in Turkey and Persia. The first recorded use of kiosk in English (1625) refers to these Middle Eastern pavilions, which Europeans imitated in their own gardens and parks. In France and Belgium, where the Turkish word had also been borrowed, their word kiosque was applied to something lower on the scale, structures resembling these pavilions but used as places to sell newspapers or as bandstands. England borrowed this lowly structure from France and reborrowed the word, which is first recorded in 1865 with reference to a place where newspapers are sold.

Nice to know words are shared and have a lot of history.

Judy Turner
Whitefish Bay, WI


       
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