I just got in to Salt Lake City as part of this month’s circuit. You’d think the first thing I’d do would be find a taxi and head to the hotel or go grab some lunch.

Nope! While it’s still fresh in my mind, I wanted to talk a bit about customer service.

Okay, you might be groaning already because this is a topic that is really like the proverbial dead horse. I don’t know if I’ll put a different spin on it. But maybe I can remind you of a few principles.

I flew Southwest this time. Usually I avoid Southwest because my past experience has been that it’s rather like going Greyhound…just in the air. Previous experience pretty much steered me away, but cheap fares brought me back.

And the customer service will inspire me to use them again.

What was so great about what they did? Nothing really out of the ordinary. It was just the whole atmosphere that the flight crew created that made my two legs quite pleasant.

First of, these people used humor. Flying is stressful and a shot of laughter can make things much easier. Second, they showed a personal interest in the passengers. Not necessarily an easy thing to do in a cramped plane, for about an hour or so, with 90 some people to tend to. Third, they smiled. Seems like such an easy thing, but it’s amazing how many people I run into on a daily basis in service jobs that never crack a smile. It’s too bad that life is so serious for them.

See, these are pretty simple things. They remind a bit of the FISH philosophy. Play, make their day, be there, and choose your attitude. I don’t know if these people have ever even heard of FISH, but that’s what they were doing.

And we can do that too. Academic libraries can become such serious places. What would happen if we all showed how much we enjoy our work. (And if you don’t, you probably should be looking for another job.) Personally, part of why I’m a librarian is because I love the hunt. And I get excited. I’m sure some of the students I’ve worked with have thought I’m nuts. But nobody has ever complained about the fact that I do show enthusiasm about what I do.

And get your face out of the computer screen when you are at the reference desk. I know we all multi-task and are trying to cram 80 hours of work into 40 hour work weeks (like I ever only work 40 hours!), but that wrinkled brow with the look of intense concentration is not particularly approachable. Would you want to ask a question of someone who looks like they have better things to do? I’m not saying that we need to perch anxiously waiting for that next question. But making eye contact and offering a smile never killed anyone…at least not that I’m aware of.

Now let’s talk about what we don’t have to do. Customer service does not mean the customer is always write. We don’t have to let people run through the library screaming, look at child porn on our computers, or anything else that is just blatantly inappropriate. Just like the flight crew would not have let me start climbing over the seats because it wasn’t safe and good for the whole place, we can approach things the same way. And libraries also do not have to be all things to all people. Sure, I would love to get a massage on the plane (and I’m sure other people would as well), but I don’t expect a company that provides transportation to do my nails, walk my dog, and entertain me with a live concert. Libraries can set limits based on our overall mission. And believe it or not, focusing what we do and doing it well actually is good customer service.

Hopefully this was a bit different than the usual. Or you were reminded of something. How do you serve your customers?