Posts tagged ‘Peter’
Putting my head back into the OPAC
A couple of months ago I questioned whether the quality of our library OPACs figures greatly into the overall satisfaction of our customers. Something I read in the New York Times this weekend: made me reflect on that post and wonder whether I was asking the right question. This is the what got me a’ponderin’:
Almost every Web film purveyor is planning to solve this bane of the modern culture consumer “too much choice” with some form of social networking. Recommendations, user reviews, friend lists and member pages are designed to help viewers determine which films they should watch.
When I read that, I found myself making these mental substitutions:
Almost every
Web film purveyorlibrary is planning to solve this bane of the modern culture consumer “too much choice” with some form of social networking. Recommendations, user reviews, friend lists and member pages are designed to helpviewerslibrary users determine whichfilms they should watchbooks, cds and film they might enjoy next.
Now I’m wondering if the question I should be asking is, “how much value could we add to our customers’ experience, how much more engaging could libraries be, if our OPACS were integrated with social software and offered reviews, friend lists, member pages and (not incidentally) filters and recommendations?”
10 plus 1 questions with Boris Simkovich, Zuula.com
Zuula (http://www.zuula.com/) is a newish metasearch engine that I’ve been enjoying. Unlike most metasearch engines Zuula is not an aggregator. Rather, it displays results in a tabbed format which makes it easy to quickly click along and review results from different search engines. You can also limit your initial searches to these categories: Web, images, news, blog, and jobs. It’s a great interface and, like so many good things in life, Zuula is based right here in the Garden State.
I recently had the opportunity to interview Boris Simkovich, Chief Executive Officer of Zuula LLC.
- Question: Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into the search engine business?
Answer: Well, you probably won’t be too surprised to hear that I didn’t grow up wanting to be in the search engine business!
In college, I studied engineering and economics, and I continued with my study of economics in graduate school, where I got a Ph.D. After that, I spent a couple of years in academia, teaching and doing research in economics, then switched over to the world of management consulting, where I worked for almost ten years.
I finally got involved with the search engine business when the consulting business I was running hired an old graduate school friend of mine, Tim Hunt. Tim also had been working in management consulting, but he had a long-standing hankering to start a software or Internet business. He couldn’t pursue this interest, however, at a traditional consulting firm, so he agreed to come to my firm when I said we would give him the opportunity to pursue a start-up idea while he also was doing consulting work.
So Tim joined the consulting business three years ago, and soon thereafter, we started considering a variety of different new business ideas that might match his interests (and, frankly, my own interests). About two years ago, we settled on the idea that eventually became Zuula.
- Question: Why did you name it Zuula?
Answer: That’s a question that gets asked a lot more than any of us at Zuula expected.
The answer to the question surprises a lot of people. We started off considering name ideas that were very, very different from Zuula. However, as we looked at different options, and also took into account what domain names (Internet addresses) were actually available, the search got more and more difficult. Finally, after playing around with different names that were short, easy to remember, and had available Internet addresses, we settled on the name Zuula.
So, in many ways, Zuula is a made-up name. When we selected it, we didn’t think it had any particular meaning. However, we’ve since found out that the word actually means “to take off” in a central African language, and we hope the meaning is a prediction of sorts for what will happen with Zuula.
- Question: Why did you start Zuula [as opposed to some other Internet-related business]?
Answer: We decided to pursue the ideas that eventually became Zuula for several reasons.
First, we liked the fact that Internet search is such a large business, and almost everyone who uses the Internet uses a search engine from time to time. This meant that it wouldn’t be too hard to find potential users for our new service, and that the service most likely could thrive even if it attracted only a small share of its overall market.
Second, we felt that the features we intended to offer through Zuula would, in fact, appeal to many people who use search engines. Working in consulting, we used search engines all the time. And, based on our own needs, we felt there would be a lot of interest in a search tool like Zuula.
- Question: How long did it take to get Zuula off the ground? What’s involved in launching a new search engine?
Answer: It took a LONG time to get Zuula up and running … a lot longer than we expected.
The basic idea for Zuula came into being in the spring of 2005. It wasn’t until that summer, however, that we decided on the features and functionality you now see in Zuula. From then on, it took almost one and a half years for our programming team to develop and finally launch Zuula.
As you know, Zuula is a meta search engine, which means that it doesn’t have a search index of its own. Instead, Zuula presents search results from a variety of other search engines – Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. – for a number of different search types. This means that one of the key tasks during the development of Zuula was creating the routines that process the results from other search engines and display them at Zuula.
In addition, we had to design Zuula’s user interface and develop the necessary code for it, and we had to create all the help information and other content necessary for a professional site.
Finally, we had to optimize all of Zuula’s code so that it runs as fast as possible, and we had to establish a server network that was fast, reliable, secure, and cost-effective. In retrospect, I don’t think any of these tasks stand out as having taken particularly longer than we expected. Instead, what we learned is that it doesn’t take very long to complete the core aspects of any given task. It does take long, however, to complete each and every necessary detail of a task … and to get everything to work together successfully.
- Question: Why should I use Zuula instead of Google or other search engines?
Answer: Actually, the beauty of Zuula is that you can leverage its capabilities without having to give up Google (or whatever other major search engine you’re accustomed to using).
Let me explain.
I mentioned earlier that Zuula is a meta search engine, meaning it displays results from a number of other search engines. Unlike other meta search engines, however, Zuula does not aggregate the results from other engines into a single list.
Instead, the results are organized under separate tabs. Results from Google, for example, can be viewed by clicking on the Google tab. Likewise, results from Yahoo are viewable by clicking on the Yahoo tab. There are tabs for essentially all the major search engines, and five different types of search are possible: web, image, news, blog, and jobs.
Moreover, for each type of search, the user can customize the order of the tabs to match his or her preferences. If a user prefers to have Yahoo as her default web search engine, all she has to do is drag the Yahoo tab so it is the first web search tab.
In this way, Zuula’s users can do most of their searching using the search engines they’re already accustomed to. With Zuula, however, users also get quick access to results from other major search engines for those occasions when their default search engines are not enough. There is no need to re-enter search terms, and all search results at Zuula are presented in a consistent, easy-to-read format that clearly distinguishes between organic results and sponsored results (advertising). There’s even a collapsible list of recent searches which can be helpful for difficult searches.
- Question: What developments are planned? What do we have to look forward to?
Answer: We are constantly working on improving Zuula.
For example, we soon will be adding more search engines, and additional search types also should become available in the next several months. Longer term, users should expect to see more customization options and better international support.
And I shouldn’t forget to mention a major upgrade which we’ll be rolling out in the next few weeks. It will involve a unique set of features – based on some innovative new technology – that will make Zuula an even more powerful search tool. Stay tuned!
- Question: What does Zuula offer that might be of particular interest to the readers of Library Garden?
Answer: This may surprise many of your readers, but we’ve always believed that library professionals would be some of Zuula’s first fans. We thought that librarians – as professional researchers — would be particularly attracted to Zuula’s ability to streamline difficult Internet searches.
We also thought that librarians would see Zuula as a way to be more neutral when recommending Internet search tools to patrons. By introducing Zuula in their research guides, handouts, and links on public access computers, librarians can leave it up to their patrons to decide which of the major search engines they want to use for their Internet searches.
Thus, your readers may want to consider adding Zuula to the search boxes in the IE7 or Firefox 2.0 browsers on their public access computers. (There is a link on Zuula’s home page to add Zuula to the browser’s search box.)
Also, we’ll soon be posting html code on the Zuula website which will make it easy to add a Zuula search box to any web page. This, too, may be useful for any public access computers your readers may be responsible for. (There probably will be an announcement at the Zuula blog – http://www.zuulablog.com/ – when the search box code is posted.)
[3/2 Update: The code is ready to go at: http://www.zuula.com/help/ZuulaAddin.html]
- Question: What is your vision for Zuula?
Answer: To be honest, we’re cautious about having a broad, overarching vision for Zuula. When it comes to the Internet, what’s “visionary” today can quickly become ill-informed and misguided tomorrow.
Thus, we try to focus on things closer to the here and now. For Zuula, that means continuing to expand the power and versatility of its search capabilities. As simple minded as it may seem, we want Zuula to be one of the best ways to find information on the Internet.
- Question: I would love to be able to run a search and then subscribe to an RSS feed for that search that brings me updated results in real time (a’la technorati, delicious, flickr, etc.) Any plans to add that kind of RSS component?
Answer: Sorry, but we’re not currently planning any RSS functionality like you’ve described. However, we very much welcome suggestions, comments, and criticisms from our users, and we’ll consider adding this feature in the future.
- Question: So what’s the business model here? It doesn’t look like you’re selling advertising—how do plan to stay in business?
Answer: You’re absolutely correct – we’re not selling advertising. And I suspect it will be quite some time before we start selling advertising directly on our own.
Currently, the advertising we display at Zuula is the same advertising that users would see if they carried out their searches directly at the search engines whose results we display. Zuula receives no money whatsoever from the advertisements. Any revenue created by the advertisements is 100 percent retained by the search engines whose results are displayed alongside the advertisements.
Obviously, this approach is not sustainable in the long run. Instead, we expect sometime later this year to begin implementing arrangements to allow us to retain some or all of the revenue generated by the advertising at Zuula. This won’t happen overnight, but it’s certainly the long-term direction of the site.
- Question: I love the idea of the Zuula blog, but the posting has been pretty sparse. What do you see as the blog’s purpose and do you have plans to beef up the postings?
Answer: It’s unfortunate but true that the Zuula blog has taken a back seat to other work we’ve been doing since Zuula’s launch late last year.
However, you should start to see more regular postings at the site in the coming month or two. For now, our intention is for the blog to be a way to “highlight and announce.” “Highlight,” in the sense of explaining to our users features that Zuula has, but which they may not have noticed. “Announce,” in the sense of publicizing new features and functionality that we’ve developed for Zuula.
That’s not to say that our plans for the blog’s content are set in stone. Indeed, we’d be happy to hear from your readers what sort of content they’d like to see at the blog.
A tempest has been brewing… AKA, yet even more on the scrotum story
One Troublesome Word , Article, Editorial
“A tempest has been brewing over a children’s book…” begins today’s New York Times editorial. Ahhhh, the passive voice… last refuge of scoundrels.
Perhaps it is too much to expect the Old Gray Lady to acknowledge that, prior to it’s own troublesome reporting, there was nothing brewing but a fairly respectful professional discussion on librarians’ discussion lists (or as the Lady quaintly refers to them, “message boards”.)
Perhaps it is too much to ask that, having started this hooha (if that’s the right word–gulp), the Lady restrain from invoking comparison’s with Marian the librarian. Surely this is writing at it’s absolute laziest! Hey Lady, while you were at it, couldn’t you have thrown in a comment or two mentioning that librarians’ commitment to intellectual freedom is generally, oh I don’t know, as tall as an oak? As deep as the sea?
(Note to the NY Times editorial board: The next time you want to disabuse your readership of the “Marian the Librarian” stereotype, it might be more effective to point out that REAL librarians don’t fit the stereotype, rather than pointing out that Marian herself was actually quite a bawdy gal, judging from her reading habits.
Check this out: It wouldn’t be fair to characterize Arthur Sulzberger’s comment that “I really don’t know whether we’ll be printing the Times in five years, and you know what? I don’t care either” by saying that he’s kind of like Nero, fiddling while the MSM burns. You know why? Because Nero really played the LYRE. See how that works?)
But I get it, Lady. mentioning Marian, was really just an easy transition to mentioning her love of Balzac, which sounds kind of like “ball sack” which is another way of saying scrotum (giggle, snigger), so we can all see how wonderfully witty, cultured, well-read, AND terribly bawdy the Times editorial board is. Look out Dorothy Parker, you’ve got competition! Oh wait, you’ve been dead for 40 years. My bad.
Well anyway Lady, thanks for throwing in that last bit about helping children on their journey from ignorance to knowledge, blahdiddy, blah, blah, and for not using the word “shhhh” anywhere in the (final draft) of the editorial.
Get your head out of your OPAC
So stipulated: Library OPACS, uh, lack the functionality we desire. We’re all agreed. OPACS should be much, much better.
Here’s my question: How does the quality of the OPAC ultimately affect the total quality of customer experience and customer satisfaction? I think the answer to that question may be quite different from library to library, depending on the needs of our different user populations. Public library users may be more inclined to be browsers, and may not really care that much about how good the OPAC is. Academic, school and special library users may be more inclined to search for specific titles, or titles within specified subject areas, and may therefore care more about the quality of the OPAC.
But even in libraries where customers rely heavily on the OPAC, I’m not sure that the quality of the OPAC figures that greatly into the customers’ overall satisfaction. (I suspect it often doesn’t…) I worked in a small special library that had a truly awful, terrible OPAC. It was one of them home-grown government agency deals–ugh! But our small, dedicated staff gave great customer service, did a lot of outreach, offered a good deal of training, and our user satisfaction was quite high. While I’m sure our users really would have valued a better OPAC, their overall library experience was not greatly affected. If we instead had offered a really super-great OPAC, but lousy customer service, I don’t think our users would have been quite so satisfied…
In Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey suggests that we are most effective when we focus our energy at those points where our concerns intersect with our ability to influence. Clearly the OPAC falls into our collective sphere of concern. But I’m not sure how much influence we have over the quality of the OPAC. I’m not suggesting that we don’t try to influence the quality of the OPAC — by working with vendors, creating our own systems, or a combination of both. I’m truly thankful that John Blyberg and Casey Bisson are out there. But I do think that for many libraries, or more perhaps I should say for many librarians, we may be able to get more bang for our limited buck, more return on the investment of our time and resources, by focusing our energies elsewhere.
I’d like to see libraries looking at their own spheres of concern and influence and making critical choices about where their time, energy, and resources can best be used to improve the quality of customer experience. In many cases, I suspect that we can have a much greater impact on customer experience by focusing on (in no particular order) the quality of the library’s environment (“library-as-place”), the library’s customer service, the library’s webpage, the library’s collection, the library’s programs, the library’s outreach, and the library’s marketing (they can’t experience us if they don’t know about us.)
I’m particularly interested in how libraries can create better customer experiences and be more relevant to their user populations by improving their physical environments. How do our customers experience the actual library space including, the visual (displays, colors, lighting, layout), the tactile (comfy furniture) the olfactory (yum… coffee…), and the aural (zones of quiet, zones of noise, background music)? How does the library staff improve the quality of the environment? Are they warm, friendly, and hospitable? Are they visible? Are they proactive and helpful?
As Joshua Neff recently pointed out, I’m not the only one thinking about these things. Meredith Farkas, (in a must-read, smart, sensitive, insightful, and mostly-polite post) says that she doesn’t use her library because she, “found the whole atmosphere really unwelcoming.” Nicole Engard found that her local librarians “were not very approachable, knowledgeable, or friendly.” Jennifer Macaulay , “admits” that she’s not a library user either (and how many of us would “admit” the same?)
Now how many of you don’t use your library because the OPAC sucks? Just wondering.
Five things about Pete
Thanks to Amy for tagging me in the “Five Things” meme. I’m going to do the Creating Passionate Users twist and answer Kathy Sierra’s fivish questions. Here goes…
1. What’s the most fun work you’ve ever done, and why?
The most fun work I’ve ever done has always been the work I’m doing at the time, so my current job is the most fun work I’ve done. Why? I get to work in a supportive environment on diverse projects (QandANJ, wireless projects, audiobooks, etc.), have a lot of freedom and can exercise my creativity in many ways, and I get to interact with lots of people (f2f and virtually).
2a. Name one thing you did in the past that you no longer do but wish you did?
I wish I did a better job staying in touch with family and friends. I used to write a lot of letters. Now I barely pick up a phone or email. 😦
2b.Name one thing you’ve always wanted to do but keep putting it off?
I’d like to take formal guitar lessons. I walk around with the phone number of a guitar teacher in my wallet. I’ve been meaning to call him for a couple of years now, but then I started watching Buffy on DVD and, uh, other priorities asserted themselves. (How lame is that? But to be fair, Buffy was quite a show!)
3a. What two things would you most like to learn or be better at, and why?
As I mentioned, I’d like to achieve some measure of competence on the guitar. Why? Because I love music, and I would especially like to be good enough to create music with other people. I just finished reading This is Your Brain on Music and I’m feeling so jazzed (heehee) that I just might pick up the phone and call Mr. Guitar Teacher (that is, as soon as I finish watching Angel on DVD. Curse you Joss Whedon!)
3b. If you could take a class/workshop/apprentice from anyone in the world living or dead, who would it be and what would you hope to learn? (two more sentences, max)
I’d want to do an apprenticeship with Marshall Rosenberg. I would hope to learn how to use the principles of Non-violent communication to better connect with other people.
4a. What three words might your best friends or family use to describe you?
Kind, funny, non-judgmental. At least, that’s how they better describe me if they know what’s good for ’em. You listening family and friends??
4b. Now list two more words you wish described you…
Organized, effective
5. What are your top three passions? (can be current or past, work, hobbies, or causes– three sentences max)
Love to play the tennis, spend time with my wife, and listen to live music (which I do now, once every two years or so. Hmm… Self-care much?)
6 Write–and answer–one more question that YOU would ask someone (with answer in three sentences max)
If you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce, do they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does? Let me rephrase: What’s funny? Answer: Groucho Marx, Coen Brothers, Woody Allen, Jon Stewart, Adam Sandler singing about his red-hooded sweatshirt, Seinfeld, Joss Whedon, Scrubs, and a lot of other stuff.
[Bonus: What is one question you wish people would ask themselves?]
Is this worth paying attention to… and…If it bothers me, is there another way of looking at this?
Bonus Fact about me me me!
I’ve lived most of my life with in New Jersey but have almost no identifiable accent (so I’ve been told.) I think that’s because most people in NJ talk good.
|
What American accent do you have?
Your Result: The Northeast
Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak. |
Patrick Jones, Mr. Inspiration AND Agents v. Gatekeepers
MPOW just had it’s 20th anniversary membership meeting at the lovely Seaview Marriott in Absecon, NJ. We were pleased to have YA author Patrick Jones on hand to deliver a morning program for SJRLC youth librarians AND a crazy brilliant afternoon keynote.
I’ve blogged about Patrick’s presentations over at SJRLC’s blog, and I invite you to check it out. Here, I’ll just add one “takeaway” that I forgot to mention in my other post: Patrick’s insight that, good as the YALSA Quick Picks list is, “The single most important list is the books that got stolen last year. Start your year by buying replacements. They have a track record!”
I’ll add one more thing. As I noted in a previous post, I’m currently enjoying Setting the Table , by Danny Meyer. I’d like to share a passage that I found myself thinking about during Patrick’s talk. Meyer writes,
In every business, there are employees who are the first point of contact with the customers (attendants at airport gates, receptionists at doctors’ offices, bank tellers, executive assistants). Those people can come across either as agents or as gatekeepers. An agent makes things happen for others. A gatekeeper sets up barriers to keep people out. We’re looking for agents, and our staff members are responsible for monitoring their own performance: In that transaction, did I present myself as an agent or a gatekeeper? In the world of hospitality, there’s rarely anything in between.
I love Meyer’s agent/gatekeeper concept. It’s a simple idea, but perhaps for that very reason it lends itself to practical use. I found myself easily using it today as a gut-check while answering the phone and responding to emails. Was I making things happen for others, or was I erecting barriers to keep people out. (In fact, I did have to tell someone that they couldn’t attend a program–but then I put on my agent hat and offered three alternative options.)
I guess Patrick got me thinking about this because maybe, just maybe, we tend to be a little more gatekeeperish with the teens. But whomever we’re serving — kid, teen, adult, genealogist — I like the idea of making things happen for... Anyway, that’s what gets me out of bed in morning!
Fried brain potpourri
The past few weeks have been post-free for me for a number of reasons: A week on Caribbean cruise (unspoiled by any sun, mind you) a week of catch-up (2 days just to revive my email which was almost fatally wounded by the avalanche of spam that built up in my absence) and a week, prior to the cruise, dealing with health issues (my own and the cat’s.— we’re both much improved thank you.)
Suffice it to say that I have:
1) A bit of fried brain
2) A lot of bits and pieces of possible posts lying around in draft.
Here then, be the bits and pieces for your piecing and, uh, biting pleasure.
- Reading and enjoying Danny Meyer’s book, Setting the Table. I particularly like Meyer’s distinction between customer service and hospitality–something I never thought about before. Meyer writes, “ Hospitality exists when you believe the other person is on your side. The converse is just as true. Hospitality is present when something happens for you. It is absent when something happens to you. Those two simple prepositions –for and to express it all.”
- I love this piece from Seth’s Godin’s Blog: “Here’s the short version: If you try to teach a customer a lesson, you’ve just done two things: a. failed at teaching a lesson and b. lost a customer” Amen! If the customer receives ‘service’ but feels like it’s being given as a favor, or worse, with reluctance or a with punitive spirit, then the customer might take their bidness elsewhere.
- A Customer Service Shout Out to Comcast. I dumped Verizon DSL last year after years of service because my Internet went out one day and they didn’t care. And that is the mercifully short version! I promptly ordered Comcast Internet and have been enjoying their speedy connection ever since. Until my Internet slowed to near halt a few days ago and my cable tv went on the fritz at the same time.
I called Comcast and quickly got through to a live human being (my favorite kind, mind you.) They said they could be out the next morning, but that wasn’t good for me, so we scheduled the morning after. Not only did the nice Comcast man show up 1/2 hour early, he was pleasant, professional, communicative, quick, and ended his visit by saying, “of course there will no charge today.” Of course!
I don’t know if it’s just that my expectations have been so severely lowered by so many terrible interactions (with Verizon, with banks, with my oil company, etc., etc.) but boy did I feel good about Comcast. Even better than I did before my Internet and TV fritzed out. It’s almost a bit cliche, but how true nonetheless – every service problem is an opportunity to strengthen the connection with the customer.
- From “Dont Coddle Me at Work” courtesy of the Chief Happiness Officer: “Before people can be happy at work, the thinking goes, they must be shielded
from all manner of ills: angry customers, unrealistic deadlines, unfair decisions, overwork, boring meetings, stress, annoying co-workers, insecurity, diffiult situations, hard choices – you name it. Wrong. The best and happiest workplaces in the world haven’t become so by shielding their people from problems, but by giving their people the skills, the energy and the freedom to deal constructively with problems.” Hey, that sounds just like Nordstrom. Don’t set rules designed to deal with every possible worst case scenario; give your employees the power to deal with problems if and when they occur. Like Robert Spector writes in Lessons From the Nordstrom Way, “Dump the Rules!” Each one is a barrier between you and your customer.
- Lovin the Elf! Library Elf, that is. I signed up for Library Elf last week after attending an informative presentation by Ralph Bingham of the Gloucester County Library System. GCLS has been actively promoting Library Elf to the delight of their customers. I didn’t think I would be able to participate since my library is a Triple I shop, but lo and behold the good people at Library Elf set me right up. I mentioned this to an administrator at my local library who was happy to hear the news. A recent customer survey had just revealed that “underdue” notices were greatly desired. This is the kind of simple convenient service that can have a great impact on customer satisfaction and also raise employee morale by reducing staff contacts with grumpy customers complaining about fines.
- Just throwing this out there… Is it time to move Library Garden from Blogger to Typepad? Blogger, oh blogger. You seduced me with your simplicity. Those come hither eyes. So easy. So cheap. You’ll still respect yourself in the morning you whispered. But you’ve changed. Were you always this freaking tempermental? And your dirty code! Oh, is it dirty… I can write a post in 10 minutes but then you ask me to spend the next four hours trying to get my font sizes right. You don’t let me spice up our posts with photos anymore. I don’t know Blogger, maybe it’s me. Maybe I’ve grown. Let’s face it, we’ve grown apart. I need a software that’s more stable, more predictable. Someone I can grow old with… (I haven’t discussed this with my fellow Gardeners, but maybe it’s time to go with something a little more professional. What do you think guys?? Do I spend my December vacation time tranferring us to Typepad?)
Broken signage
I’ve been away from the blog for what feels like a while–but for a good reason! My wife and I met up with some friends that came from the west coast and we did a seven day cruise to the western Caribbean. Lots of rain, no sun, but a good time was still had by all. We swam with dolphins, played with monkeys, ate, slept, read. Who needs the sun anyway?
I never had any desire to vacation on a cruise ship, and while the service and food was generally excellent (with a few notable exceptions), the cruise ship experience is probably just not my bag.
Anyhoo, I’ll get around to getting the monkey and dolphin pics up on flickr, but in the meantime I thought this picture was worth sharing. Yup, that’s the emergency exit door on deck 1 of the Carnival Valor. What message does this sign send to the passengers? I think it should be subtitled, “In case of emergency, good luck suckers!” Hey Carnival, let’s barter: You give me a free seven day cruise and I’ll give you a kick-ass signage audit. 🙂
Tom Asacker on Branding
Tom Asacker, who blogs about marketing and branding over at A Clear Eye, gave a short interview after his recent presentation at Brand Manager Camp. I want to highlight one of Tom’s statements, but check out the whole interview (which is short) and his blog (which is intelligent and stimulating.)
A brand is a customer’s perception and an expectation of receiving something.
This got me thinking: What are my perceptions and expectations of the various businesses that I interact with?
- My perception and expectation of Lubeworks is, a quick oil change, today’s paper to read while I’m waiting, fresh coffee, fresh flowers, honest, friendly and helpful staff, AND I’m going to leave with a smile on my face. (Everyone working there is having a good time! They care about me. I’m “tennis guy”.)
- My perception and expectation of Commerce Bank is, I never ever have to interact with a human being to accomplish my business. Yay! (and I’m an extrovert) But on those rare times that I do want to actually interact with a teller or service agent (or whatever they call themselves — I just noticed, I don’t really care), I’m going to be treated by someone with a smile. No charge to dump my jar of pennies in the “penny arcade” and convert my spare change into crisp twenties. Nice touch!
- My perception and expectation of Wegman’s is, they will have good prices, a great selection, a convenient ‘small’ size cart that’s just right for me and easier to push through the aisles (why don’t all stores have them?), friendly, attentive service, and never a long wait—because they have a few employees just roving to make sure the lines aren’t too long and coordinating the opening of new lines. If I’m honest with myself I have to admit: Going to Wegman’s is darn near recreational. (“Hon, what do you want to do tonight, go to movie? Hit the cookie counter at Wegmans?”)
- My perception and expectation of Petro used to be, a big headache, long waits on the phone, disconnects, arguments, mistakes in billing, a freezing home and no service. Just before I hit my limit with this crappy service, a friendly and helpful Petro service agent told me that they were overhauling their phone system, that it was a big nightmare but it was almost done, and PLEASE PLEASE hang in there with them. Now: I expect, no wait on the phone, quick, friendly service at any time of the day or night, a nice website where I can manage my account and — YAY! — request an oil delivery without having to pick up the phone or deal with a voice menu. Thanks for turning it around Petro!
- Our customers’ perceptions and expectations of our libraries are… [fill in the blanks] Am I copping out by not telling you my perception/expectation of my library. Uh, yes I am. Truth is, I am a member of two libraries and spend time in countless others. I get great service and really enjoy the feel of being in most of these libraries (and I always have–that’s why I became a librarian. Duh.) Lots of smiles, lots of face-out merchandising, coffee, nice nooks to sit in and read or think. Generally, my satisfaction with the physical experience of being at these libraries exceeds my satisfaction with my virtual experience. Libraries, get thee to a web designer!
So what do your customers expect and perceive when they visit your library or website? What experiences are you offering them?
Tom Asacker suggests that if we offer our customers an appealing experience — that is, an experience that’s going to 1) satisfy their problems, and/or 2) help them feel good about themselves, and/or 3) allow them to make social connections — they will choose to spend their time with us. I think that’s good news for libraries. We DO help people solve problems and we (at our best) offer physical spaces that are ripe with opportunity for social connection. (Here come the “I caught them doing it in the stacks” stories…)
My questions: How can we do this better? How can we offer a consistently positive customer experience across time? Across platforms? (i.e. in-person, on the phone, on the web.) If the experience isn’t consistent, how can customers ever come to expect it? In looking at my own behavior, I notice that I’ll tolerate a low level of consistently poor or mediocre service more than I’ll tolerate inconsistent service. Receiving consistently bad service is actually less stressful for me—as long as I know what to expect. It’s the uncertainty that stresses me out…
Technorati Tags: branding, customer experience, customer service, libraries
Improving library services
Jennifer Macaulay, an MLS student at Southern Connecticut, has a wonderful post on her blog, Life as I know It on the topic Improving Library Services: A Review of Techniques.
I’m listing her main points below, but I highly recommend the entire post. Her selection of topics is inspired (and inspiring); her annotations on each topic are concise and insightful.
If you want to make a positive change in your library, tack up Jennifer’s post on your door, throw a dart, and start doing whatever you hit (unless your aim is bad and you hit that old Calvin and Hobbes comic that you taped up in 1992– don’t, I repeat, don’t do what Calvin is doing…)
Here are the techniques Jennifer highlighted, but really, read the post.
- Use of integrated service points
- Cross training of staff
- Flexible management technique
- Redefine the library’s physical space
- Allow users to participate in decisions about which services to offer
- Focus on new models of professional development for the entire staff
- Adding content to library catalogs (OPACs)
- Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy to advertise library services
- Re-evaluate the current library user and their information needs
- Re-evaluate library signage
- Beware of technology for technology’s sake
If Jennifer is at all representative of the future of our profession I think we’re in good hands.
Library Garden 
