Customer Care for Assistants

1. Customer Care for Assistants Induction and basic guidelines

2. Good Customer Care • Smile! A smile can even be ‘seen’ over the telephone. • Wear your identity badge • Be approachable • If you know the students name, use it. It gives a nice friendly feel to the interaction • Be aware and sympathetic to students and staff needs

3. Good Customer Care - continued • Respect confidentiality. Don’t discuss students details in public. Keep information on screens turned away from a queue • Body language is important • Communicate (see Unit 4 of this module)

4. Colleague Care • You are not alone!! We are in this together! • Be aware of the impact of your actions on your colleagues • Be aware of the work other staff are doing and pressures they are under • Remember everyone is busy

5. Working on the Issue Desk - staff • Staff Involved • Learning Services assistants, Senior Staff, shelving staff • Remember the importance of teamwork

6. Working on the Issue Desk - tasks • Vital • Opening and closing procedures issues and returns, phone renewals, security alarm, reservation filing, sorting retuned items, inter library loans, selling consumables, dealing with cash, general enquiries, invoices and queries • Urgent • Empty book box • Necessary but additional • Reservation weeding, process checking, shelf tidying, weeding the overnight shelf, bib checking, checking ERC returns

7. Working on the Issue Desk – the queue • Managing the queue – best practice • Why • We must strike a balance between serving the customer and competing the tasks • To offer a consistent service to our users

8. Working on the Issue Desk – the queue • Queue length guidelines

9. Working on the Issue Desk • Communicating with colleagues – good practice • Use the blocks facility and initial them! • Alert colleagues if you leave the service area • Use the desk diary to record problems • Brief verbal hand-over at the change of shift • Read the Intranet information and keep up to date

10. Working on the Issue Desk • When the Issue Desk is busy the Help Desk Staff will: • Provide support and assistance • Answer phone renewals • Alert senior staff if additional help is needed

11. Working on the Issue Desk • Quiet times – good practice • Staff should undertake additional, appropriate tasks • Do your shelf tidying • Bring process checking out • Undertake your departmental or project work

12. Customer Care and Learning Services • First impressions - a customer will judge us on: • appearance • manner/attitudes • working environment • You never get a second chance to make a first impression! • Good practice • We should be friendly but professional. • We should listen carefully, give the customer your full attention. • Make them feel important. • Take responsibility • Exceed their expectations whenever possible • Positive outcomes • The customer goes away feeling that they have received good treatment and have a positive image of the service and Edge Hill as a whole. • Mutual raised self esteem and improved morale