Is Good Enough good enough?

September 2, 2009 · Posted in Best Practices, Libraries, Worst Practices · View Comments

I don’t know, but it’s what I’m thinking about thanks to Jason Griffey

Think about the services in your library, and the amount of effort and resources poured into making your services as good as they can possibly be. What if good enough is really enough, and instead we should be expanding our range of services instead of seeking perfection in any single one? How does that change the way libraries operate?

He cites a Wired magazine article – The Good Enough Revolution: When Cheap and Simple Is Just Fine which he quotes

…it happens to be a recurring theme in Good Enough products. You can think of it this way: 20 percent of the effort, features, or investment often delivers 80 percent of the value to consumers. That means you can drastically simplify a product or service in order to make it more accessible and still keep 80 percent of what users want—making it Good Enough…

Aaron Schmidt responded in the comments

This is great, mostly because just yesterday I was thinking about just the opposite! My thoughts aren’t fully formed but my basic line of thinking is that good enough services are probably wholly unremarkable and don’t leave any sort of impression on our users. Doing Things Right (even if we have to do fewer things) with pride and quality, on the other hand, could make libraries stand out and make our users admire us.

I admire and respect both Jason and Aaron, so as a proper little librarian, I hurried off to do some reading to decide if I agreed with either, both or neither of them.Turns out I’m still not certain.

Sometimes good enough is good enough. Insisting on great product can mean you miss the boat, time wise. It can mean you’re so invested in the finished product that you’re resistant to changing it. It could mean you produce a Porsche when a Saturn could produce the same result, getting you from point A to point B.

Let’s say you can spend a lot of time and money developing a new system or product. Since were talking about libraries and it’s timely lets say it’s a new service that helps patrons find a new job. You could insist that you’ve covered all your bases, considered every possible problem, question and need before you make it available. But while you’re doing that there are people who need your help who aren’t getting it. Or you could make it available when it’s good enough. People will have access to a service they need and you’ll learn as you go what needs improvement. Remember holding on to it until it’s perfect doesn’t guarantee you’ll wont run into problems later. In this case, as long as you’re willing to make modifications as you go along, and you should be, it is good enough.

I can also see problems with doing things that are good enough. Patrons who encounter problems and obstacles to their goals may become frustrated and never come back. They wont be around to know when you’ve improved the system or service.

So I’m not sure where the line is. What do you think?

There is something to be said for brand loyalty

July 1, 2009 · Posted in Chit Chat, Customer Service · View Comments

I don’t normally blog about customer service issues (although I have been known to tweet complaints) but I feel like I should blog this, in part because I am not so angry I can’t see straight, which is usually a hint for me that blogging is not a wise decision and because its about brand loyalty which in light of returning my iPhone I am thinking about.

I’ll provide some background, but if you’d like to get to the point it’s don’t buy a camera from Casio and think hard about Customer Service.

My first digital camera was a Sony, but my second was a Canon Powershot and two subsequent cameras have been Powershots. I love taking photos and I know I am working my way towards an SLR. Last October I traded in my Canon PowerShot SD870 IS (great point & shot by the way) for the Canon SX10 IS, love it! But found I missed having a small point & shoot in my purse handy in case I wanted to take a photo of something. Having sold the SD870 (I so regret this) I looked at my options, I didn’t want to spend a lot as I already have a nice camera, but I did want image stabilization and a wide angle lens. Canon had an option but of course it was more expensive than the one Casio offered. So I put aside my brand loyalty and bought the Casio. I’m not completely thrilled with the functionality of it and wouldn’t want it for my “good” camera but it worked. Until 2 weeks ago when I dropped it and the screen broke.

I’d had it for less than a month and it was under warranty so I sent it into Casio to be repaired. Today I got the estimate for repair, now keep in mind I indicated the screen was broken when I filled out the forms & they did not indicate it what it would cost and I paid about $10 to ship it.

Flat Amount: $69.00

Labor: $0.00

Parts: $0.00

Shipping & Handling: $10.00

Sales Tax: $4.74

Service Total: $83.74

Remarks: review screen broken

I only paid $124.95 for the camera! Seriously? Worse there is no view finder so it is useless without the screen, but there is no freaking way I’m paying them $83.74 In truth I’m more frustrated with myself than Casio, I know that sometimes cheaper is cheaper for a reason and you end up paying for it in the long run.

update 6:30 pm EST – just realize I have to pay them $10 to send it back to me or allow them to keep it. Now actually mad.

Now I wish I’d bought the Canon. Why? Because several years ago, when I had my very first Canon, I broke the screen. I foolishly left it laying on the stairs and someone (I can’t remember if it was me or a roommate) stepped on it and broke it after it was almost a year old. I sent it to Canon, they repaired it and mailed it back to me a no cost. I’d almost forgotten this was part of my foundation for loyalty to Canon (I get flack for it sometimes you know) until this little incident. In truth it probably cost them very little to fix it for free and it earned them a life long customer, I’ve since purchased 2 more Canons, each increasingly higher end, therefore more expensive models. I’ll be replaced the Casio with a Canon thank you very much, and I’ll also be advising other people not to buy a Casio. I am the techie friend that so many friends and family come to for advice when they are thinking about a new gadget. Sometimes it is the little or not so little things that matter.

Ok so how does this relate to libraries? Customer service matters, and not just in the front line smile and be nice kind of way, but in the don’t offer excuses and just fix my problem sort of way. I’m sure Casio has very good reasons for these fees, and I’m certain its their policy. I can’t argue with that.

But sometimes by sticking with our very good reasons and policies we’re digging a hole. You may gain a small amount in fees or fines, but what did you loose in the form of customer relations, good feelings and PR? How much do you spend on marketing and PR? What if by providing exceptional customer service your patrons could be doing positive PR for you instead of negative?

I know times are tight and we’re all looking to save a buck, but what you gain today in $10 or $20 (or $83.74) of fees you could pay back many times over in the money you could have saved on marketing and PR.

photo by debaird

Tags: <camera, canon, canon SX10IS, casio, cost, customer, Customer Service, digital, digital camera, Exilim, Marketing, policy, powershot, pr, public relations, repair, repairs, service>

Is Library 2.0 and/or Web 2.0 really serving our patrons?

August 19, 2008 · Posted in Learning 2.0, Library Learning 2.0, Library Learning 2.1, Social Networking Sites, Social Tools, Web 2.0 · View Comments

I saw and participated in a discussion on this on one of my email lists last week. I thought I’d take more time to write out my thoughts and responses on my blog. Sarah posted this over in MaintainIT but it looks like she didn’t open it up for comments so I’m going to.

Here is part of the email I sent the list

One of the problems I’ve seen with 2.0 is the library runs out and gets a blog or facebook page or whatever and declares themselves 2.0. They don’t consider who they are trying to reach, what they are trying to accomplish, how they will accomplish it or measure success. We need to take the same approach to 2.0 that we’ve taken to library services for years. Not every tool will work for every library and community. Some libraries have wildly successful film programs or extensive tools for small businesses, but not every library does. We look at what our community needs and what works best for them. The same approach should be taken with your web tools.

My answer is yes. I think there are many aspects of Library 2.0 (and web 2.0) that are providing better service to our patrons. Right now I’m using a blog to create a new Readers Advisory service for our patrons. Learning 2.0 & Learning 2.1 teach our staff about technology and terms our patrons are using that they might now have known about before.

I can go on and on with examples and arguments, but what I really want to know is What do you think? Do you have some great examples of Library 2.0 or Web 2.0 is helping (or not helping)? Is the objection to 2.0 that we’re placing a value judgment on it that we don’t apply to traditional services ( and by that I mean when we order the latest romance or horror novel)? Are we doing a disservice to our patrons by having a blog? Are gaming events a waste of our valuable time? What should we be doing with our time?

Tags: <libraires public library, library, library 2.0, patrons, service, social web, Web 2.0>