Customer Service

I was visiting Chapters yesterday looking for The Predictioneer's Game by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita. Like many customers, I could remember the name of the book, but not the author, so I went up to one of Chapters' new handy-dandy Apple-esque "search" stations and did a straightforward keyword search. Up popped the title, they had three copies and off I went to the "History and Political Science" section to find the book. But, of course, once I got there I couldn't find the book. I knew the general section and the title, but nothing more specific. As I stood there, probably looking lost and confused, one of the sales associates came up and asked if he could help. I explained my problem to him and before I could even finish he was off to double check everything I told him on the computer. It took him twice as long as it took me to find the title (and he was using the advanced search) and was condescending towards me when I tried to explain that it was faster to use the keyword search (as it was the only hit using that method). He then informed me I was looking in the completely wrong section, while taking me back to the exact section I was previously in. The sections had been mislabeled, meaning that even though I was in the right section originally (according to the labels) the books had been shifted, so the book I was looking for was a few bays down. I was so irritated by the service that I left without buying the book.

Now, this rant about Chapters' customer service does have a point (I'm not simply complaining - I swear!). This sales associate broke every rule in the library customer service book. He assumed the information I found on my own was incorrect (it wasn't), he ignored my expertise in favour of his own way to doing things (he didn't know I was a librarian, but I was able to find the book's record faster than he did using the dreaded keyword searching), and he did not acknowledge the poor labeling and layout of the store as being primary to the problem.

If the research is to be believed, most customers (both of bookstores and libraries) prefer bookstores. Heck, sometimes I prefer to go to a bookstore. They're comfortable and clean. The books are shiny and new. There's usually a really good coffee place attached. But we're the ones with the strong customer service orientation. We provide the good customer service. Or do we? How many librarians have you worked with that have done exactly what the sales associate did to me? Whenever I experience poor customer service, I try to remember what went wrong and then make sure I NEVER do the same thing to one of my patrons. But I've never been able to figure out a way to have the customer service discussion with colleagues who behave differently towards patrons that I do. What do you guys do in these situations?