Customer Service: Reinforcing the "Hello" Habit at the Colby Public Library

Link to January 9 Marshfield News Herald column by Library Director Vicky Calmes, "Stop in to say hello at Colby Public Library".

Excerpt: Back in the "old days," there seemed to be more rules. When working at Kramer's Family Center in Abbotsford during my high school years, owner Dennis Kramer had the rule that everyone who walked into the store was greeted with a hello. It didn't matter if the worker was an adult or a somewhat shy high school-aged employee. The worker was to initiate a greeting to every customer entering the store. This took a little getting used to, but after a few reminders, if the greeting was forgotten, it became a second nature that never left me.

[snip]

I still have the "hi" habit today, and it serves me well at the Colby Public Library Public. I encourage my staff to greet every patron with a friendly hello. We try to never be too rushed to make people feel welcome. We meet and greet hundreds of folks each week in our library family. That simple rule by Dennis Kramer, which at the time I was not keen about, has been passed on and makes quite a difference still today.