Sites and Soundbytes

The Church of the Customer Blog (a wonderful blog for anyone interested in excellent customer service) had a post today on how to create a Word-of-Mouth Worthy airline.  The example given was of a pilot who has taken it upon himself to create a wonderful experience for his passengers.  The article lists the many things he does that are not part of the company's policy:

• He mingles with passengers in the gate area
• He makes gate announcements himself, updating passengers about weather conditions and sets realistic expectations for delays
• He uses his cellphone to call United operations to ask about connections for passengers
• He passes out information cards to passengers with fun facts about
  the plane; he signs two of them, whose owners will win a bottle of wine
• He snaps pictures of animals in the cargo hold to show owners their pets are safely on board
• He writes notes to first-class passengers and elite frequent fliers
  on the back of his business cards, addressing them by name and thanking
  them for their business
• He personally calls parents of unaccompanied children to give them updates
• He instructs flight attendants to pass out napkins asking passengers to write notes about experiences on United, good or bad
• He orders 200 McDonald's hamburgers for passengers if his flight is delayed or diverted

It got me thinking about what we library directors should be doing.  What can we do in addition to being administrators that would immediately improve our patrons' experience at the library?  What I loved about the pilot was that he didn't set up formal listening sessions, but rather grabbed his customers right where they were and exceeded their expectations. 

Here are some things I would love to do and see:

• Directors should work the service desks at their libraries.  Do you know the feel and service your patrons are receiving?  (I am posting this from our library's reference desk while the staff has a department meeting, so this is one I personally do whenever I get the chance.)  I find that I get a real sense of our patrons, their needs and how the library inter-relates when I do even a short stint at desk.
• Directors should have blogs, newsletters and other ways to talk directly to their patrons.  Even more so, the patrons should have the ability to talk directly to the director and be heard.  This can happen on the fly in the library itself, with listening sessions, or online.
• Directors should write thank you notes themselves for donations.  That personal touch goes a long way.
• Directors should not be dictators.  We should listen, listen, listen and trust our staffs.  I learn more from my staff and their knowledge of the community and libraries than anywhere else. 
  
• Directors should be willing to take risks.  Allow changes to happen.  Lead the way to new services.  Be brave!
  

What else would you love to see your administrator doing?  What do you do as an administrator to better serve your patrons?