The Problem Customer (Part 1)
William J. Schroer
“Not only do eight in 10 Americans in our study say a lack of respect and courtesy is a serious problem, but six in 10 say things have become worse in recent years.”
Aggravating Circumstances, The Pew Charitable Trust (2003)
We are giving more presentations and workshops on the issue of “Problem Customers” as both library professionals and the media at large have noted that American society in public has become less tolerant, more aggressive and just plain rude. But can anything really be done in a proactive way to deal with the changing “tone” of society in America? Especially by those on the front lines who do not have a great deal of position power?

We believe much can be done and should be done. In this multi-part article, we will begin to address the issue of Problem Customers, how to minimize the chances of encountering them and what to do once you have one on your hands. In this first part we will emphasize the separation of “Customers with Problems” from “Problem Customers”. The purpose will be to identify library policy and practice elements of Customer Service approaches to insure we as libraries aren’t contributing to the problem. In other words, the Customer From Hell may have started out as the Customer Who Has Gone Through Hell and we may need to own some of that.

All Elements of the Enterprise are Important

Our first area of inquiry is the culture of the Library and how the Customer is viewed in comparison with all other constituencies. If you feel I’m going to suggest the Customer be placed first on the list you would be mistaken. That very practice of “Customer is King/Queen” is exactly what has created Customer with Problems in the first place. How? Because the overemphasis on customers leads to a distortion of priorities in the business model whereby employees, suppliers and even owners are sacrificed or placed behind customers. That leads to elevated expectations on the part of customers and feelings of resentment among staff, suppliers and even owners.

As opposed to a dynamic tension model shown above, the model many libraries use is a hierarchy with Customers at the top and the other constituent groups listed in descending order.
Customer
      
Board(Owner's)
      
Management
      
 
Staff
    
   
Volunteers
     
Suppliers
The problem with this model is it sets up the employees to fail and customers to be able to “get away” with unacceptable behavior, which in turn leads to unbridled expectations, and the development of bad behavior or....Problem Customers.

By taking the dynamic tension model as our ideal, different principles kick in: All constituents are important, Everyone is treated with respect....which means customers must be trained to respect staff as much as we want staff to respect customers. The impact of that philosophy can be huge.

For example, it means we start with blanket policies on expectations we have for customers and they may legitimately have for us. Listed below is one set of policies that may be used to establish the ground rules of behavior in the Library:
It is expected that all patrons
… will conduct themselves in a mature, civil, courteous manner that is appropriate for the Library environment and activities.
… will comply with posted rules, policies and procedures relating to Library materials, equipment and conduct with other patrons and Library staff.
…will respond to the direction and guidance of Library staff regarding their behavior and use of Library materials and equipment.
This first half of the service “contract” with customers outlines the expectations in a way that denies the ability of the Customer to see themselves as “King/Queen”. They will be held accountable for their actions. By avoiding laundry lists of little prohibitions the Library also focuses on the big picture and avoids the problem of rewriting State laws into its list of rules and attempting to “micromanage” the behavior of customers. It further avoids the “jailhouse lawyer” syndrome where those out to circumvent the rules will tend to parse specific rules until they can engage in the activity they want without technical violation: “It says ‘No sleeping in the Library’...but I was napping and there isn’t a rule against that!”

On the Library side, expectations also exist, which library staff must hold themselves accountable to.

The Library management and staff will….
… treat all patrons with courtesy and respect
… provide a safe, welcoming and appropriate environment for patrons of all ages and backgrounds
… answer questions and find materials in a prompt, focused fashion as time permits
… minimize the amount of time and number of people involved in assisting a patron.
… actively work to maintain an orderly, productive environment for the enjoyment and use of all      patrons
… respond to concerns or complaints with speed and attention
This other side of the contract demonstrates library staff must behave as well. Now, with both sides of the contract in place and highly visible, with staff trained against this standard, both sides must be ready to accept accountability for behavior.

This contract, while simple (and is of course capable of being modified to meet your needs) serves as an important cultural anchor in the development and reinforcement of expectations. So, shouting and invectives are not met with the same. Calm, measured responses insure inappropriate behavior is discouraged and disincentives such as the loss of privileges accompany a failure to respond to the inappropriate behavior.

Training
Building a cultural milieu based on blanket behavioral expectation policies is not difficult but does take time and effort. It starts with the staff and requires the development of specific skill sets that call for a systems approach to Customers with Problems.

First Contact/Last Contact
Among some of the problematic behaviors that have been built up over time between staff and some customers is the tendency for the “Customer/King” to demand, when unsatisfied with some aspect of the service, to see the Director. This one upmanship forces an ugly transaction that leaves library staff in disarray, often resentful of the director and a customer who has learned how to leverage library staff to his/her will. The concept of first contact/last contact eliminates the leverage of customers pitting library staff against each other or their supervisors. Here is how:

When a dispute arises between a customer and a staff member and the customer asks to see the supervisor, the staff member complies. The supervisor sits down with the customer and the staff member together requesting the customer tell her/his story. The staff member then explains what her version is and the supervisor makes a finding. In finding for the staff member, the supervisor says something to the effect: “Well, Mrs. Jones, I appreciate your calling this matter to my attention. In this case, I believe Jennifer has correctly interpreted our policy. I know Jennifer will do everything she can to work with you on this situation and resolve it to your satisfaction. Its important that our policies be reviewed and we be comfortable they represent the best interests of our customers and the library. In this case I’m satisfied that balance is in place. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

Mrs. Jones: “No, and I still don’t agree but if that’s the way it is I guess I can live with it”.

Director: “I appreciate your willingness to work with us. Jennifer would you escort Mrs. Jones back to the circulation desk and complete the transaction? Thank you.”

Now, let’s suppose the staff member has made an error. In this case the conversation may go something like this: ““Well, Mrs. Jones, I appreciate your calling this matter to my attention. In this case, I believe there may be an issue here that we might need to address. Jennifer, would you review that policy on renewals and work with Mrs. Jones on this. I feel she may have a valid point and I’d like you to see what you think once you review the policy in detail.”

Jennifer: “Certainly, Mrs. Smith (director). I’ll be happy to do that. This policy has some vagueness to it and I see your point about how Mrs. Jones was looking at the policy.”

“Mrs. Jones, if you’ll come with me, I’m sure we can solve this.”
While the way in which it all works is adjustable based on each library’s culture, the key points are:
  • The director is going to insure the person making the decision in the end is the same staff person the customer tried to go over the head of.
  • Secondly, the decision is based on an objective view of the policy and/or the most objective interpretation of the policy, not pressure by the customer on a director.
  • Finally, staff and customers are reinforced the staff person that started the transaction is the one the customer will end up with.
Our experience is this approach dramatically reduces the behavior problems that come from these Problem Customers, staff are reinforced and policy errors are still corrected because the problem is not about the egos of staff vs. directors but about what is in the best interest of the Library and the Customer.

Stay tuned for Part Two coming in two weeks