The Library A fly-on-the-wall documentary filmed at the Enterprise Library and Information Service April 2005 PART FOUR

Following on from Part 3 After being filmed dealing with some enquiries, the library assistants were interviewed on how they generally communicate with customers at the enquiry desk. Their responses were mainly based around two factors…

Listening

AND…

Questioning

Rebecca Rush “I’m learning that it’s really important to listen to the enquirer and by that I mean the whole query. I try to make sure that I focus my whole attention on the person and listen carefully to what they’re saying. In order to do this, I usually think of my answer after they have finished speaking rather than while they are talking. You know, I usually say “Let me think for a moment” while I work out in my head what to say. I mean if you start thinking of the answer before they have finished the question, you might miss an important piece of information. Also I think it would give a really bad impression if the user thought the library staff weren’t listening to them.”

Owen Oracle “Well the nature of the question you ask the enquirer does really depend on what they’re asking. You can ask a open-ended question to focus the enquiry, such as ‘Is it a particular aspect you are interested in?’, if you have been asked a really broad question. Or if you have more of an idea of what the options are you could ask ‘Is it X or Y you are interested in?’ I would avoid giving too many options though as you may confuse the enquirer further. Once I think I have got to the bottom of what the person wants, I often find it useful to repeat it back to them as a question to check I have understood. So I might say ‘So it is X you are looking for then?’, just to make sure we are singing from the same song sheet as it were.”

Petra Part-Time “I just take the approach that most of the time you need to know who, what, when, where, why and how, in order to answer an enquiry. I mean not every enquiry will need an answer to all of those, but if you keep them in mind it will stand you in good stead.”

Martin Meekly “Sometimes it can be a bit like playing twenty questions. You know that game where you have to guess what the person is thinking by asking questions, to which they can only reply yes or no? Well, some days it is like that. That’s why I try not to ask too many closed questions where they can just answer yes or no, as you can often end up none the wiser.”

End of Part Four