Notes: Dissatisfied Visitors: amending your customer service style

We had a wonderful meeting this past Monday at Sarcoa.

Educators from a diverse range of museums and cultural institutions attended and shared their experiences with customer service and dissatisfied "visitors".

The Royal Museums of Greenwich have this list of their customer services.

The Museum Notes blog posted this interesting information about how we name our "visitors", and how that affects our view of these people.
A summary:
"In fact, what we call our museum’s public beneficiaries really does influence how we think of them, plan for them, serve them and our communities, and even assess our impact. “Visitor” might have the lead as a standard term, but with major shortcomings. It is not only impersonal, but it also lumps together millions of people into one undifferentiated mass. It implies a temporary relationship with someone who will be leaving soon. Finally, it ignores the vast number of people who may not physically come to the museum but who have an interest in and a relationship with it."

Click the link above if you're interested in reading more.
Soon to come: information about our next meeting, "Movie Night: Share your favourite intriguing films/documentaries/youtube videos".

Notes:
Customer Service
-survey, email comments
-be sure to engage with visitor comments
-offer incentives to unhappy customers
-team meetings to examine trends of certain complaints
-personal comfort, floor plans forms of customer service
-guestbook comments, contact cards for concerns for directors/curator
-in-person surveys for marketing, co-op student
-people should (or do) have perceived notions of what to expect when coming to your museum
-do you meet these expectations?
-important: meeting AODA requirements
-sensitivity to everyone’s needs
-try a “secret shopper” to examine your museum’s customer service
-volunteer training
-what do you get for admission? Offer a 2 day pass
-offer free parking with membership

Welcome!

September sees the beginning of HME's 2012-2013 schedule.

We have an exciting list of topics coming up; head on over to the Schedule page to read more about where and when we're meeting.