In this case the rule is to not allow customers the ability to tell different stories or leverage the director against the staff. In this library the “first contact/last contact” rule is in place.

Bob Jones responds to Mrs. Smiths request to see the Director: “Certainly, Mrs. Smith, I’ll be happy to request the Director meet with us on this matter.”

Mrs. Smith is taken aback “I would like to speak to the Director alone.”

The rule here is not to argue with the patron. Bob Jones knows this is unlikely but doesn’t argue. “Mrs. Smith, I will be happy to pass on your request. If you’ll wait here I’ll just be a moment.”

Bob Jones summarizes the situation to the Director, Susan Day, who walks with Bob back to the office where Mrs. Smith is waiting.

“Good morning, Mrs. Smith. Bob has shared your concern and he has passed on your request to meet with me alone. Unless you wish to speak with me about some other issue, I can’t honor that request. Bob is the person who is the original person you have spoken with and I would like Bob to sit in to insure I have all the information. Do you mind if Bob sits in?”

If Mrs. Smith insists she meet with the Director alone, Susan will politely decline and indicate that is not possible.

Mrs. Smith, in this case agrees, but is not happy. She explains her dissatisfaction with the suspension to her son and asks the director to override the decision.

Susan insures the information presented on the incident is accurate. “Bob, it is my understanding Jimmy was identified as the student who threw the book and used an obscenity, is that right?”

Bob Jones indicates that is what is in the record and shows Susan the notes. Susan offers to call the two staff members and ask them to verify their notes. The strategy is clear.

Susan is repeating the same exercise Bob engaged in: patient review of the facts, polite but firm adherence to Library policy as long as there was not an error in the Library process.

Susan Day follows the same reinforcement Bob used “Mrs. Smith, we regret this incident happened, but we appreciate your concern and we value you as a library patron. Jimmy is certainly welcome back once he serves his suspension. Is there anything else we can do to help you with resolving this matter? If not, I’ll let you and Bob work out any additional details regarding Jimmy. Thank you again for coming in.” Susan gets up and leaves the room.

By showing solidarity with the staff and insisting the staff be in the room and the contact is handed back to Bob, Susan is demonstrating there is no value in trying to go over the staff’s head to get a better outcome. The facts determined the outcome for Bob and for Susan.

Mrs. Smith may or may not be fully satisfied. Ideally, if Bob and Susan have handled this well, Mrs. Smith may believe she was listened to, was provided with more information than she likely got at home and realizes the staff made a decision that had to be made. She also may believe the staff are fair people trying to do the right thing, who value her as a customer. Or, she may turn out to be a Problem Customer.

While issues like this don’t always come out as well as in our story, the chances for a successful outcome are much better if these rules are followed: