Are You Being Served? Designing the Customer Service Curriculum

Customer service is a core component of user experience and an important element in making patrons feel welcomed and valued within our libraries. At the University of Maryland Libraries, we took on the challenging task of creating a customer service training curriculum for all staff working at public service points and offering a digital badge for successful completion of a non-credit course. This article will detail our sometimes difficult, often uncertain, but ultimately worthwhile process of determining training needs and creating this course as we incorporate customer service into the daily work of our employees.