Mindful customer service

What was particularly impactful from Hugh Byrne's talk on mindfulness and meditation?

- The Wendell Berry poem, The Peace of Wild Things. I have also escaped to nature, but felt somehow that was taking the easy out, and therefore to be frowned on as not making an effort. But the lines in the poem that resonated were

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief.
The point is not to make an effort, but to be.

- The notion of washing a dish mindfully, not washing the dishes mindfully. If you are thinking about what you are doing, you are thinking about the one dish you are currently working on, not the sink full of dishes that await you.

- The image of reactions being like wild horses carrying one away in a great rush. When the rush is over, there is nothing to do but walk quietly home, apologizing to all injured by the wild ride. The start of the ride is exhilarating briefly, but only briefly and then the impact and regrets and justifications begin. In this case it is definitely preferable to get off the horse, or not get on it in the first place.

Now, how does these insights affect who am I and how I behave to others at work?

Mindful Customer Service

I attended Mindful Customer Service training with Hugh Bryne, Ph.D. on 12/6/12.  He taught us basic mindfulness practices including how to focus our awareness (try to listen to your breath...not the clock), to be aware of thoughts/thinking (try to quiet that innervoice and focus on the breath), and how to work with difficult physical/mental experiences (which I could use a refresher on this practice).  I would enjoy a full day session where we could focus on mindfulness to inter-personal relationships.

I liked being able to meditate while being at "work" but being on the floor would have been nicer.  I'm greatful that Michelle asked about getting distracted while meditating and Hugh said that was ok as long as we acknowledge that we are aware that our focus is on the thoughts and we can choose to focus on the thoughts or redirect to focusing on the breath again.  This was really helpful to remember/know that I was not the only one being distracted by my inner voice. Hugh also said this distraction is great practice in training our brain to behaving in new ways.  

I have been trying to follow a meditation routine at home...we'll see how long that lasts. :)

Mindful Customer Service

Ouch, I already forgot my mindfulness training while helping a mother who was helping her child.  Who is writing this report on Indians anyway?  Sign me up for session two on interpersonal interactions. 
Meditating in that venue was interesting, though relaxing and releasing thoughts was made effortless under Hugh Byrne's  calm guidance.   I intend to follow up listening to some of the podcasts.
Keep smiling.
Joan

Mindful Customer Service

On Thursday, Dec. 6th, Hugh Byrne, Ph.D. presented a four-hour workshop on mindfulness and disappointingly not directly on customer service but connections could definitely be made. Plus, it opens up the possibility of having a "part two" workshop in the future in which the focus would be directly on applying mindfulness to our interactions with colleagues, friends, library patrons, family, our neighbors in the check-out line, etc. 


The following post includes the most poignant takeaways that resonated strongest with me.

Mindfulness is about producing an appropriate response.
When we're mindful we're fully in the present moment. I interpret this as meaning when we're having an interaction with someone, let's say a library patron, we're experiencing that person as brand new and novel, and without the stories we tell ourselves about that person (i.e. "Oh, here comes that guy again. I bet he's going to say he didn't deserve his fines, again, like he always does..."). And without the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves (i.e. "I never know what to say to this guy. I won't be able to handle him." Instead, we great him and ourselves with kindness and presence and we take the interaction moment by moment. In other words, we produce an appropriate response - as opposed to a cookie-cutter type of response. If we bring positive, pleasant energy to a situation then we have a greater chance of eliciting the same kind of response from whomever we are interacting with. 

This got me wondering if our collective (human) weakness in mindfulness is why policies exist. I think maybe well-written policies exist in an attempt to capture the most cookie-cutter type response that is also on some level generally appropriate in most situations. It makes my head hurt trying to understand the sentence I just wrote but, there it is. The situations that don't fit into or go beyond the cookie-cutter response are good times to dip our toes into the water that is mindfulness. 

What would be left if I stopped doing ________ ?
At one point during the workshop Dr. Bryne was talking about how unmindfulness (is that a word?) manifests itself by the things we do to excess: eat, watch tv, sleep, consume alcohol, gossip, etc. And he said something to the effect of if you're mindful, even for a moment when you're scarfing down a stack of those Lofthouse sugar cookies with the 1" of icing on them, ask yourself, "what would I be left with if I stopped eating these cookies?" Essentially we need to ask, what need is trying to be fulfilled - ineffectively - by eating cookies/watching tv/drinking/sleeping/smoking/gossiping, etc? Then we have something we can work with, something that can then become the focus of our mindfulness, even if it's just for a moment. If we can interrupt ourselves by asking that question when we're caught in those cycles of unconsciousness (I'm going to use that word instead of unmindfulness because at least it's a real word) then eventually we can break the cycle all together. But it takes time and energy and dedication and mindfulness. 

If you're interested in getting small doses of mindfulness during your day, I highly recommend the free podcasts from the Insight Meditation Community of Washington as well as those available from Hugh. They're both available in the iTunes store or from their respective websites.

Serving Your Customers Without Sacrificing Yourself

On Wednesday, November 14, 2012, I attended Rayna Schroeder's workshop Serving Your Customers Without Sacrificing Yourself at the LaVale Branch of the Allegany County Public Library System.

I was really looking forward to this workshop, as I deal with difficult customers on a daily basis, and while I always try to be polite, professional, and helpful, it's usually at the expense of my nerves!

I definitely got a lot out of this workshop.  I'm not sure why it came as such a shock to me, but the biggest thing I took away was that different people have completely different sets of triggers than I do, and that we can use each others' strengths and weaknesses to our advantage.
All of this also helped me recognize my own personal triggers, which is something I had never really given much thought to before. The workshop really gave me a lot to think about, and several self-improvement goals for me to work towards, which will help me stay calmer and more focused when serving library patrons.

In turn, I think this will help improve all of our patrons' library-going experiences, as it will create a friendlier, more welcoming atmosphere; if I can deal with difficult patrons without getting upset and feeling overwhelmed, then not only might I have helped that particular patron, but I may have helped everyone in the library at that time to avoid a much more unpleasant experience.

Serving Your Customers Without Sacrificing Yourself

I attended Rayna Schroeder's workshop 'Serving Your Customers Without Sacrificing Yourself' at LaVale on November 14.  This sounded like an interesting topic for me, as I deal with customers every day, and some of them can be challenges to my good nature.  I learned that if I can identify my 'triggers', actions that will make me angry, I can learn how to diffuse the negative energy before I lose my cool.  There are tools that can help me keep calm and they include the SOSS model.  SOSS stands for Stop, Oxegenate, Strengthen Appreciation and Seek Information.  The more I can emotionally understand a person, the less negative energy will be directed their way.  I will try to encourage my coworkers to give our customers the benefit of the doubt and try to empathize with them and the library environment will be a nice place to be in!

Learning: What's on the Horizon

I thought I'd take the time to share with you the learning opportunities that are on the learning horizon for the library staff in Allegany, Garrett, and Washington counties. Most of these aren't set in stone yet but I wanted to give you a head's up.

September & October: SkillSoft

Now, there's no need to groan here. Yes, for some of us it might feel like SkillSoft has been beaten into every fiber of our being but there's a good reason for that. By itself it might be a little lame and sterile but this year I'm hoping to show you the hidden sexiness of SkillSoft that can be teased out through blended learning events. Let me explain.

Yes, I will be offering Introductory SkillSoft courses for the first-timers and as refreshers for anyone who might have neglected SkillSoft during the past year and wants to give it a second chance. Then I'm going to create Shared SkillSoft Seminars where colleagues from across the three counties all take the same SkillSoft course and then come together online in the new Blackboard Collaborate (formerly Wimba) to have a discussion about how we can try to apply what we've learned in the course to our everyday work lives. CEUs are awarded for the SkillSoft courses as well as participating in the online discussions.

October 15th: Storytime Extravaganza
9am-4pm @ Clear Spring library 

From the 2012 MLA Conference Program:
"Spend the day with these amazing programming librarians in fun,interactive lecture and activities. Whether a beginner or a seasoned programmer, you will take away new ideas, great information, and endless inspiration. Learn about the hows and whys of using puppets in story time; how to connect with your audience effectively using a variety of storytelling methods such as readers’ theater, felt board stories and more; learn methods to engage and keep the attention of large story time groups, how to mix music into your programs; and how to plan thematic story times. Audience participation is encouraged!"

Lunch will be provided.

PRESENTERS:
Amanda Ellington - Youth Services Supervisor, St. Mary’s County Library
Tess Goldwasser, Youth Services Librarian and Early Childhood Community Liaison, St. Mary’s County Library

REGISTRATION:
Will be open 8/27/12 - 10/08/12. 

 November: Serving Your Customers Without Sacrificing Yourself
From Rayna Schroeder's website: 
"Do you wonder how you can provide better customer service AND not let difficult customers drive you crazy? Attend this workshop and learn the keys to serving your customers without sacrificing yourself. You will discover the four fundamental things customers want, which will enable you to serve them well. You will understand how to leverage "Moments of Truth" - opportunities for customers to evaluate you and your business. Finally, if dealing with difficult people is something you encounter daily, learn techniques to deal with difficult customers and not let them ruin your day."

December & January: Databases
This is one thing that showed up several times in the training needs assessment and it's something that was asked for last year but I regrettably did not get around to offering it. I'm determined to do better this year. I'd like to highlight 2-3 databases during one workshop and in order to decide which ones to highlight, I'll first look to the WMRL Database Advisory Committee to see which resources might need a boost in marketing. However, you guys reading this are the ones who help the patrons use the databases so, I'm also going to look to you to tell me which ones you think should be focused on as well. This doesn't have to be just a December event. It can be on-going if there's a need/desire.


February: Making the Connection
From Julie Gaver's website:
"This fun and highly interactive session provides attendees with opportunities to increase their comfort and confidence for networking, establish rapport with others, enhance their listening and conversational skills, and understand good social etiquette."


June 10th & 11th: Give 'Em The Pickle
 June 10th @ ACLS @ 1:00-4:00pm
June 11th @ WCFL @ 9:30am-12:30pm

From the 2012 MLA Conference Program:
"In this interactive workshop that takes a fun, motivational look at customer service, participants will explore various techniques to apply the four key principles of service, attitude, consistency, and teamwork. In this training, we join “Bob Farrell on a cross-country journey to meet employees and managers who have put his customer service mantra - Give ‘em the Pickle - into action.” Participants will learn the importance of giving away pickles - small but meaningful things or actions that show customers they’re valued, identify their own pickles to give away, work in groups, as well as create their own personal action plans. The presenters share their own experience with transforming customer service at Blackwell Library and provide tips and pointers for participants to take back to their institutions."

PRESENTERS:
Mou Chakraborty - Director of Public Services, Blackwell Library, Salisbury University
Sharon Payne - Head of Circulation, Blackwell Library, Salisbury University

REGISTRATION:
Will open April 29, 2013 

Additional Presentations Yet To Be Scheduled:

• Top Trends in Technical Services 
• The Changing Face of Circulation and Support Staff in the Library
• Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Joys and Pains of Middle Management  
• The 360 Degree Performance Appraisal
• Microsoft Office - Outlook 2010