A Note from the
Continuing Education Coordinator
We are excited to introduce you to the first ever NEO-RLS Customer Service Conference: Perspectives, Possibilities, and Practices. This conference will replace the Day for Public Service and will bring together many of our popular customer service and communication speakers in one location. The conference will take place on Thursday, April 3, 2025, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Twinsburg.
This dynamic customer service conference is designed specifically for frontline library staff. As the heart and face of every library, frontline employees play a vital role in creating welcoming, inclusive, and impactful experiences for patrons. This conference is your opportunity to network with your peers, explore new perspectives, discover new possibilities and come away with practical tools to better assist you, the library and your patrons.
We start the day with Andrew Sanderbeck’s keynote, Don’t Eat the Red Frog! Handling Some of the Worst Customer Behaviors that Come Through Your Doors! Some customers are like the Red Poison Dart Frog of Costa Rica. Their behaviors are toxic! How many times a day are you dealing with angry, difficult and even downright unreasonable customers? They truly can be poisonous, if you let them!
The good news is that you can choose to not let them ruin your day or poison your “service attitude” with their venom. And by using a few proven techniques and questions some of these Red Frog customers could actually leave feeling better!
This is followed by three breakout sessions.
Breakout 1
Empathize to Innovate,
presented by Holly Klingler
Learn about empathy-driven innovation where you'll discover creative ways to identify your customers' needs, brainstorm solutions, and quickly prototype ideas.
Scripts for Mastering Difficult Conversations, presented by Huron Public Library Staff
Have you ever dealt with a patron who is disgruntled or doesn’t like change or is just plain mean? We all have. Seeing a need, Huron Public Library managers created scripts to help staff prepare to interact with difficult patrons.
Breakout 2
The Quiet Approach to Serving Customers: Helping Introverts Excel in Customer Service, presented by Andrew Sanderbeck
Customer service is not an easy job for anyone. It can be especially challenging for those who are more introverted to work with customers while handling difficult questions, listening to complaints and sometimes dealing with people that can be angry or confused.
The Phenomenon of Library Anxiety,
presented by Jennifer Buch
Trying new things can be hard for anyone, but for those who are anxious, it can seem almost impossible. Learn about the research done on library anxiety.
Breakout 3
A Firm Grasp: Utilizing Body Language to Increase Safety and Decrease Conflict,
presented by Holly Klingler
Discover the critical role of nonverbal communication in conflict management and personal safety.
Packing our Briefcase with Superpowers for the Library!, presented by Marilee Fini
We often forget to UNLOCK our Superpowers in our briefcase. When we utilize these Superpowers such as passion, flexibility, patience, self-care and optimism in our everyday work life, we gain a whole new perspective.
You will not want to miss this information packed day. Click this event link to register and see a complete description.
See you there!
Melissa
