Training Library Staff and Volunteers to Provide Extraordinary Customer Service

Establishing and maintaining the best possible customer service is essential for every library. Here is a training manual that gives you the “what to say” and “what to do” to make that goal a reality. Smith and Todaro offer guidance for training employees at all levels--from frontline staff to managers. They show you in detail how to integrate a customer service focus and training into a variety of staff and volunteer interactions--job interviews, orientation, employee review, and in-service and out-service training. Todaro and Smith suggest standards for what employees should know on day one, after the first week, after the first month, etc.

This complete package includes role-playing suggestions and scripts for specific and difficult scenarios, as well as guidelines for establishing policies and a glossary. Numerous model forms (critical incident report, customer feedback, postcard survey, “lock-box” survey, and more) make this toolkit essential for library managers and administrators who want to help their staff develop a whole new level of customer service.