Comments on: Shine like a Star, Star

By: Shine Like a Star, Star (Update) « Agnostic, Maybe

Shine Like a Star, Star (Update) « Agnostic, Maybe — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 14:57:08 +0000

[...] Mine, “Shine like a Star, Star” [...]

By: Andy

Andy — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 20:56:46 +0000

I want to answer, but my question is how you don’t feel empowered? What is making you feel that way?

By: Cari

Cari — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 20:24:55 +0000

Great post. I often feel downtrodden and not valued when I have bad interactions with customers. When librarians are empowered to give good customer service, to feel truly like rock stars, those bad interactions become so much less important. Yes, the customer is important, but how can I give good customer service if I never feel good about what I do?

By: Cari

Cari — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 20:21:31 +0000

I love your business cards too! I shared with the rest of my department. My husband and I used Moo cards to send out our new address when we got married, so I know they’re inexpensive and look great. What a great idea.

By: The Ups and Downs « Justin The Librarian

The Ups and Downs « Justin The Librarian — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 02:36:39 +0000

[...] know David Lee King and Andy Woodworth weren’t out to get me with their posts**. They’re both wonderful and brilliant dudes [...]

By: taxonomylady

taxonomylady — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 13:13:54 +0000

Andromeda, I completely agree that “Thoughtful collection development is a face of customer service.” I didn’t mean to suggest otherwise. The service that the library provides relies on the work of every employee, not just those people or activities that are viewed as traditionally customer facing. It takes a village…

Although we may have slightly different shopping strategies/perspectives, I am happy to meet another librarian Nordstrom fan!

By: Andromeda

Andromeda — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 17:11:03 +0000

I have to disagree here. I love, adore, Nordstrom — I’ve posted about how much I love them several times — and the service is a part of that, but for me, it is about the collection. I can’t get what I find there (cute shoes in my size) at any other bricks-and-mortar store. Even if they were jerks I’d go there sometimes (although I’d do more online shoe-shopping than I do now). The customer service is what changes that from “I go there because I have no choice” to “I go there because I walk out giddy”.

(Which is, I think, still an important lesson for libraries, in an era where people have tremendous choices for where to get their information.)

To me, though, the collection and the customer service are facets of the same thing: they both show a company that has thought sincerely about what patrons might need and how to get it to them. Thoughtful collection development is a face of customer service.

By: More on Rockstars | David Lee King

More on Rockstars | David Lee King — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 13:08:20 +0000

[...] Andy Woodworth wrote Shine Like a Star, Star. Nice post that fleshes out the whole promote staff idea: “But for those who don’t mind the exposure, the promotion pays in branding dividends. If you can put a human face to the library (and not a picture of a building, as is commonly done on Twitter and Facebook), then patrons can make the better connection to a person than simply identifying the place. In thinking beyond the immediate, when it comes to advocating for the library, it’s an easier emotional connection to say “Miss Jessica at the library needs you to write to your representatives” than “The library needs you to write to your representatives”. Patrons will be doing it for the people at the library, not simply the library itself. It’s that kind of identification that the library really needs; that personal connection that emphasizes that we are a people business.” [...]

By: taxonomylady

taxonomylady — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 20:44:39 +0000

Yes, thank you. I thought that was what you meant, but then I started thinking about the “profession”, as in the are we professionals debate or the “profession” as in the hierarchy that exists between types of libraries.

By: If the library was Nordstrom… » Beyond Sliced Bread

If the library was Nordstrom… » Beyond Sliced Bread — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 20:24:03 +0000

[...] Shine like a Star, Star [...]