Customer care : a training manual for library staff

Customer Care provides a detailed course suitable for delivery to library staff at all levels. It can be used as a stand-alone reference work for customer care processes and procedures or, alternatively, it can be used by library staff to tailor a customer care course to suit the requirements and training needs of their own staff.

• List of figures and tables p. ix
• About the authors p. xi
• Acknowledgments p. xiii
• Preface p. xv
• 1 Preparation p. 1
• Your role as a facilitator p. 1
• Notes on venue and facilities p. 3
• 2 The introduction p. 5
• Aims  p. 5
• Background p. 5
• Aim 1 Introductions p. 7
• Aim 2 Expressing concerns and creating a climate for learning p. 12
• Aim 3 Understanding the aims of the course p. 12
• Aim 4 Establishing the ground rules p. 13
• Aim 5 Clarifying the role of the facilitator p. 14
• 3 What is customer service? p. 15
• Aims  p. 15
• Background p. 15
• Aim 1 Identifying the constituents of good/bad/excellent service in practice p. 19
• Aim 2 Recognising the importance of customers' expectations and feelings p. 20
• 4 Who are our customers? The customer service chain p. 27
• Aims  p. 28
• Background p. 28
• Aim 1 To identify more clearly the different kinds of customer p. 32
• Aim 2 To recognise the special needs of different customers p. 35
• Aim 3 To recognise from whom we receive service in general p. 47
• Aim 4 To recognise our internal customers p. 49
• Further reading p. 50
• 5 Communication p. 53
• Aims  p. 53
• Background p. 53
• Aim 1 To recognise the barriers to communication p. 56
• Aim 2 To recognise the importance of body language or NVC when dealing with customers face to face p. 59
• Aim 3 To improve communications, whether face to face, over the telephone or in writing p. 65
• Final comments p. 81
• Further reading p. 82
• 6 Questioning and active listening p. 83
• Aims  p. 83
• Background p. 83
• Aim 1 To identify the different types of questions and their effect on communication p. 85
• Aim 2 To use questions to communicate more effectively p. 89
• Aim 3 To encourage more active and effective listening p. 89
• Further reading p. 98
• 7 Handling complaints p. 101
• Aims  p. 101
• Background p. 102
• Aim 1 To identify the appropriate steps in handling customer complaints p. 106
• Aim 2 To develop a positive proactive response to customers' problems and complaints p. 114
• Further reading p. 122
• 8 Dealing with challenging situations p. 125
• Aims  p. 125
• Background p. 125
• Aim 1 To identify behaviours that create positive relationships with customers p. 127
• Aim 2 To recognise signs of aggression in a person p. 130
• Aim 3 To identify appropriate strategies for dealing with challenging situations p. 132
• Further reading p. 146
• 9 Life positions and the OK Corral: being more confident and assertive p. 149
• Aims  p. 149
• Background p. 150
• Aim 1 To recognise aggressive, assertive, adaptive and apathetic styles of behaviour p. 152
• Aim 2 To use assertive language in response to customer and staff statements p. 161
• Further reading p. 174
• 10 Suggestions for improvement p. 175
• Aims  p. 175
• Background p. 175
• Aim 1 To identify how participants can help improve the effectiveness of their section p. 176
• Aim 2 To identify how managers can help participants make improvements p. 185
• Further reading p. 196
• 11 Teambuilding p. 199
• Aims  p. 199
• Background p. 199
• Aim 1 To foster team spirit p. 201
• Aim 2 To help understand how we work in groups p. 202
• Further reading p. 216
• 12 What are we good at, and what is our future? Action planning p. 217
• Aims  p. 217
• Background p. 218
• Aim 1 To celebrate success and take pride in achievements p. 219
• Aim 2 To actively share information about team successes p. 221
• Aim 3 To make a commitment to improving customer service skills p. 221
• Further reading p. 229
• 13 Wrapping it up p. 231
• Concluding remarks p. 231
• Feedback p. 233
• 14 Conclusion p. 237
• Plenary p. 237
• Some final words... p. 237
• Index p. 239