Delivering Service Quality and Satisfying Library and Satisfying Library

Customers through Web-gbased Services

Presented by:

MICHAEL  A. PINTO, MPACaAKAp President

Director of Libraries‐University of Saint LouisTuguegarao City, Cagayan

An AnecdoteOne Monday afternoon at around 3:10, Lucky, a

freshmen student went to the library to find the answer for his assignment about the meaning of suffrage. It was 20 minutes before his class. As he approached the library premises he noticed a long queue of students library premises, he noticed a long queue of students along the deposit counter. The students were arguing about the bags which they deposited and accidentally about the bags which they deposited and accidentally exchanged with the stuff of the others. In order to get rid of the long queue in the deposit counter, he decided to leave his bag to one of his friends and immediately went to the shelves to locate the book.

Since he was running out of time, he then asked the help of the librarian in charge but the librarian looked at help of the librarian in-charge but the librarian looked at him and said “Can you see that I'm busy? Better go to the OPAC” I have a lot of reports to do.” Lucky didn’t expect that kind of treatment to him. In fact, before the incident, he was even boasting to his former classmates in high school that the they have a very good library Further school that the they have a very good library. Further, during their orientation day, the Director of Library was very proud to say that the library staff are approachable y p y y ppand that they are free to approach anyone of them if they need assistance. Feeling sad and disappointed, he went i di t l t th h lf b h i i t f immediately to the shelf because he is running out of time. It took him 15 minutes to locate the book because the book was placed in another shelf. Further, there was pno student assistant assigned to do shelf reading.

To catch up with his 3:30 class he immediately To catch up with his 3:30 class, he immediately went the circulation counter for him to borrow the book overnight. Unfortunately, he again noticed a long g y g gqueue of students waiting for their turn to process the book in the circulation counter. It took 5 minutes to h h k ff ll h k d d hhave the book officially checked out under his account. He went out of the library with a feeling of disappointment and he promised that he will never ask disappointment and he promised that he will never ask assistance from the librarian again.

POINTS TO PONDER….• Have you encountered the same scenario

in your library?in your library?

• Is there something wrong with the i ?scenario?

• Are you the type of librarian described in the anecdote?

• How many Lucky do you have in your respective libraries?

• What can we do to avoid such? at ca e do to a o d suc ?

Why Provide the following in the Library?

S i

the Library?

Service

Quality 

Customers Satisfaction 

WEB Services 

The Moment of TruthThe Moment of Truth

• Each customer contact is called a moment of• Each customer contact is called a moment of truth.

Y h h bili i h i f• You have the ability to either satisfy or dissatisfy them when you contact them.

• A service recovery is satisfying a previously dissatisfied customer and making him a loyal customer.

We should answer following questions:We should answer following questions:

• Are we delivering the services?Are we delivering the services?• Are we delivering Quality services?

A bl t d t d th d f• Are we able to understand the needs of our clienteles?

• How can we further improve our services to meet the customers’ expectations?

Vit l C id ti fVital Considerations of our Existence..

• Customers not only need SERVICE but QUALITY SERVICE.

• They are meticulous about their requirements

• Their queries are becoming very complex. 

The Customer ExpectationsThe Customer Expectations

• Guests are the judges of service quality (Berry and Parasuraman, 1991)

• Their Expectations of service greatly influence their resulting level of satisfaction

• It is far easier to please guests with lower t ti th th ith hi h t tiexpectations than those with higher expectations

Applied in the Library

Accordingly, it is easy to understand what most users want when they go to the libraryusers want when they go to the library.

Wants: Expectations:‐ Pertinent materials

‐ Photocopy

‐Locate easily

‐ Photocopy will work properlypy

‐ Need assistance

py p p y

‐ Staff will help them promptly and courteously y

In others words, THEY WANT WHAT THEY WANT WHEN THEY WANT IT!WANT WHEN THEY WANT IT!

Categories of Service Expectations g p

1 ESSENTIAL These services meet the fundamental1. ESSENTIAL  These services meet the fundamental requirements to continue operation 

Ex. Circulation, Reference, Instruction Program

2. EXPECTED Those which the clients assume the service provider should offer in order to provide 

, , g

p pserviceEx. Photocopying services, internet services, Wifi services 

2. OPTIONAL Guests considered these services as an added bonus that enhances the value of their visitEx. Wifi zones, Social Networking sites for the library

Why Quality Matters?Why Quality Matters?

• The global market is becoming moreThe global market is becoming more competitive every day

• Companies continually search for new ways to• Companies continually search for new ways to gain an edge over their competitors around the globethe globe

• Global competition and deregulation in a b f i d i i f i inumber of industries is forcing companies to 

turn to quality in order to survive   

Why Quality Matters?Why Quality Matters?

“Quality“Quality is our best assurance ofis our best assurance ofQuality Quality is our best assurance of is our best assurance of customer allegiance, our strongest customer allegiance, our strongest defense against foreign competition, defense against foreign competition, and the only path to sustainedand the only path to sustainedand the only path to sustained and the only path to sustained growth and growth and earnings” earnings” (Welch). (Welch). 

Why Quality Matters?Why Quality Matters?

“Quality is in the eye of the beholder”Quality is in the eye of the beholder

“If customers say there is quality service, then there is. If they do not, then there is not. It does not matter what an organization believes about his level of service” 

(Petter Hernon and Ellen Altman (1996)

What is Service Quality?What is Service Quality?

• The extent to which a service meets customers’ needs or expectation (Lewis and Mitchelle, 1990)

• The difference between customers expectations pof service and perceived service.

• Customers also form perceptions of quality p p q yduring the service transaction ‐ how effectively and efficiently the service was delivered and the 

d d f l hspeed and convenience of completing the transaction  

In Library Science…In Library Science…• Is typically defined in terms of gap analysis, or 

h b ’ i ithe gap between customers’ expectations in general (for an ideal library and services) and h i l i h i lthose perceptions relating to the particular library and its services. In other words, it is the 

b i f hgap between customer expectations of those services in the library in general and those 

i f h i ff d bperceptions of the services offered by a particular library

Dimensions of service qualityDi i E l ti C it i E lDimension Evaluation Criteria Examples

1. Tangibles:  Appearance of physical facilities

A clean and professional looking officePhysical evidence of 

the service

facilities 

Appearance of service personnel

looking office. 

A clean and well dressed librarianpersonnel

Tools or equipment used to provide the service

librarian

The number of OPAC stations, working p , gcomputer units, printers, security devices.

The equipment used in thetechnical processing of the materials

Dimension Evaluation Criteria Examples

2. Reliability: Consistency and d d b l

Accuracy of bibliographic records, billing receipts

An accurate billing receipt, accurate information needed by adependability in 

performing the service Performing services when 

information needed by a library users

gpromised “No borrower’s card, no

book card policy”

Library opens at exacttime. 

Dimension Evaluation Criteria Examples

3. Responsiveness: Willingness or 

Returning customer phone calls 

Asking users what they need at the reference desk section

readiness of employees to provide the service

Providing prompt service

section

Locating and delivering the books needed by a dean provide the service within a period 

Handling urgent requests Providing the result of boardexams

A il bilit f t ff hAvailability of a staff when needed

Dimension Evaluation Criteria Examples

l d d hi hl i d4. Assurance: Knowledge or competence of 

Knowledge and skills of library staff

A highly trained reference librarian,student assistantsp

employees and ability to convey trust and confidence

Company name and reputation

A known and respected serviceconfidence reputation respected service provider

Personal characteristics of 

Assist users to find the information and 

library staff will not stop until the need is provided

Dimension Evaluation Criteria Examples

5. Empathy: Caring and individual

Listening to customer needs 

Caring about the customer’s

A library staff listening to and trying to understand a user’s complaintand individual 

attention provided by employees

Caring about the customer s interests

complaint

Informs library users of the new acquisition. y p y

Providing personalized attention

A Library staff assist the users in locating books in the shelves

Also access with regard to approachability and ease of 

f h i

shelves

The librarian is visible and can be approached anytime a lib hcontact from the customer is 

of importance to issues that may be raised by the customer.

library user has a query

Broad DimensionsBroad Dimensions of of Service QualityService Quality

• Reliability – perform promised service dependably d land accurately

• Responsiveness ‐ willingness/readiness to provide prompt service

• Competence ‐ possess knowledge and skill to perform the service

• Access ‐ approachability and ease of contact of pp yservice personnel

• Courtesy ‐ politeness consideration and friendlinessCourtesy ‐ politeness, consideration, and friendliness of service personnel                                   cont…

Broad DimensionsBroad Dimensions of Service Quality of Service Quality –– cont.cont.

•• CommunicationCommunication ‐‐ keeping customers informed; keeping customers informed; li ili ilistening to customerslistening to customers

•• CredibilityCredibility ‐‐ trustworthy, believable, honesttrustworthy, believable, honest

•• SecuritySecurity ‐‐ freedom from danger, risk, or doubtfreedom from danger, risk, or doubt

•• Understanding/knowing customerUnderstanding/knowing customer ‐‐ knowingknowingUnderstanding/knowing customerUnderstanding/knowing customer ‐‐ knowing knowing customer’s needscustomer’s needs

•• TangiblesTangibles physical evidence of servicephysical evidence of service•• TangiblesTangibles ‐‐ physical evidence of service  physical evidence of service  

ParasuramanParasuraman, A. , A. ZeithamlZeithaml, V., and Berry, L.  (1985). , V., and Berry, L.  (1985). 

Cardinal Principles of Cardinal Principles of SService ervice QQualityuality

• Listening precedes action• Reliability is keyReliability is key• Flawless execution of the “basics”  • Pay attention to service designPay attention to service design• Perform service recovery well• Surprise customersSurprise customers• Practice “fair play”• Promote teamworkPromote teamwork• Internal service begets external service

Adapted from Zemke, Ron (2002)

l l t i lit th di‐ is a multi‐item scale developed to assess customer perceptions 

- represents service quality as the discrepancy between a customer's expectations for a service offering and the customer's perceptions of the service received requiringp p

of service quality in service and retail businesses

perceptions of the service received, requiring respondents to answer questions about both their expectations and their perceptions (Parasuraman et al 1988) The use ofbusinesses 

(Parasuraman et. al., 1988)

(Parasuraman et. al., 1988). The use of perceived as opposed to actual service received makes the SERVQUAL measure an attitude measure that is related to, but not the ,same as, satisfaction (Parasuraman et. al., 1988).

SERVQUAL MODELSERVQUAL MODEL

Customer’s Expectation

Customer’s Perception of Service Performance

Quality  = ‐Performance

GAPGAP

Customer’s Satisfaction

Gaps in Service Quality

Queueing TheoryQueueing Theory

A pioneer: 

lAgner Krarup Erlang 

(1878‐1929)

What is queueing theory?What is queueing theory?

• Mathematical analysis of queues and waiting times y q gin stochastic systems.– Used extensively to analyze production and service processes exhibiting random variability in market demand p g y(arrival times) and service times.

• Queues arise when the short term demand for service exceeds the capacityservice exceeds the capacity– Most often caused by random variation in service times and the times between customer arrivals.If long term demand for service capacity the queue will– If long term demand for service capacity the queue will explode!

Components of a Queueing ProcessComponents of a Queueing Process

The calling populationg p p– The population from which customers/jobs originate– The size can be finite or infinite (the latter is most common)– Can be homogeneous (only one type of customers/ jobs) orCan be homogeneous (only one type of customers/ jobs) or 

heterogeneous (several different kinds of customers/jobs)

The Arrival ProcessD t i h h d h t /j b i t th t– Determines how, when and where customer/jobs arrive to the system

– Important characteristic is the customers’/jobs’ inter‐arrival times – To correctly specify the arrival process requires data collection of 

interarrival times and statistical analysisinterarrival times and statistical analysis.

Components of a queueing processp q g p

The queue configurationThe queue configuration– Specifies the number of queues

• Single or multiple lines to a number of service g pstations 

– Their location– Their effect on customer behavior

• Balking and reneging– Their maximum size (# of jobs the queue can hold) 

• Distinction between infinite and finite capacity

Example – Two Queue ConfigurationsExample  Two Queue Configurations

M lti l Q Single Queue

Servers

Multiple QueuesServers

Single Queue

The Psychology of Waitingby: David Maister

1. Occupied Time Feels Shorter Than Unoccupied iTime.“Boredom results from being attentive to the

passage of time itselfpassage o e se“A watched pot never boils”

2 People Want to Get Started2. People Want to Get Started.

- Acknowledge one’s presence so that they know g p ythat service has started: we know that you are here

Th i f f ‘b i f tt ”- There is a fear of ‘being forgotten”

The Psychology of Waitingy gy g3. Anxiety Makes Waits Seem Longer

th i t b t h th t h d‐ the anxiety was about whether or not one had been forgotten

4. Uncertain Waits Are Longer than Known, Finite Waits

‐ The most profound source of anxiety in waiting is how long the wait will be

“appointment syndrome.” 

The Psychology of Waiting

5. Unexplained Waits Are Longer than Explained WaitsWaits‐ The lack of an explanation is one of the prime factors adding to a customer’s uncertainty about g ythe length of the wait.

6. Unfair Waits Are Longer than Equitable Waits“The feeling that somebody has successfully ‘cut in front’ of you causes even the most patient 

b f i bcustomer to become furious. Great care to be equitable is vital”

The Psychology of WaitingThe Psychology of Waiting

7. The More Valuable the Service, the Longer the7. The More Valuable the Service, the Longer the Customer Will Wait

‐ Tolerance for waits depends upon perceivedTolerance for waits depends upon perceived value of service‐perhaps with the emphasis on the perception.the perception.

8. Solo Waits Feel Longer than Group Waits

Individuals suddenly turn to each other to‐ Individuals suddenly turn to each other to express their exasperation, wonder collectively what is happening and console each otherwhat is happening, and console each other

The Internet and Information Qualityy

Problems:Problems:

1. Information overload

2 il bili f i i f f l2. Availability of vast quantities of useful information

3. The potential for inaccurate materials

4. The ephemeral nature of materials pdisseminated via personal homepage

Information QualityInformation QualityInformation via web:

Quality is often used to refer to sources which contain original content, or sources which are gaccurate and reliable.

Information Quality ‐refers to the fitness for itsInformation Quality  refers to the fitness for its purpose of an information source within a particular settingparticular setting

Web‐ Based Service in the LibraryWeb Based Service in the Library

• Libraries are utilizing the Web to provideLibraries are utilizing the Web to provide services to an increasingly sophisticated and demanding computer userdemanding computer user.

M d lib i i h b• More and more libraries are using the web to make the library services available anytime 

hanywhere. 

Some Library Services on the WEBSome Library Services on the WEB 

1 Lib W b i1. Library Website 

is an important tool in delivering qualityis an important tool in delivering quality service to users since the content of the library can be made accessible to the userslibrary can be made accessible to the users either partially or fully.

http://www.loc.gov

http://libraries,uslt.edu.ph

http://www.mainlib.upd.edu.ph/

http://www.dlsu.edu.ph/library/

WEB OPAC ‐ The web OPAC of mostWEB OPAC ‐ The web OPAC of most libraries are usually integrated in their 

b itwebsite.

This helps library users to know what are available materials in the library to save their time especially if they are notsave their time especially if they are not in the campus.

• Circulation – Loaning can be done thru the library websitelibrary website.

• New Acquisition – lists of newly acquired books can be made available in the librarybooks can be made available in the library website

• Reference Service – this can be done through providing links to online reference materials in the library website.

2. Social Networking Sites

(Facebook, Twitter, Friendster, etc)

3. Yahoo Groupsp

4. Yahoo Messenger, Skype, etc

5 Emails5. Emails

6. Online Journal Subscription

(EBSCO, Pro-Quest, Gale, etc)

7. Open Access Journalsp

(DOAJ, Philjol, etc)

TIPS FOR ADVANCING WEB‐BASED SERVICESSERVICES

1. Commit to 24x7 access to library services

2. Take risks and move quickly

3. Utilize all library resources as well as the Internet

4. Find information partners that complement library servicelibrary service

TIPS FOR ADVANCING WEB‐BASED SERVICESSERVICES

5. Use targeted marketing techniques to reach new audiences

6. Partnerships and collaborations are the cornerstone of philosophy of service and the library's practice in advancing Web‐based services

Anti-Quality AttitudesAnti Quality Attitudes

“There will always be a next time”

“To err is human”

“Better late than never”

“Librarianship is a combination pof something you are

(CHARACTER) and some things (CHARACTER) and some things you do. (COMPETENCE)”

Ma DATING at GALINGMay DATING at GALING

Thank YouThank You forfor 

Listening!g

Good Day!!y