Module 2 – Customer Service
Customer Service is at the heart of every interaction we have with our residents and guests. Every experience they have with us reinforces their sense of belonging with our Residence Halls.
It is our goal, to provide the best experience possible in our work with residents. This does not mean we will always be able to meet our residents requests or demands, but it does mean that even when we are not able to do so, we respect the rights and dignity of our residents.
In short, the residents might not remember the specific facts about our interactions with them, but they will remember what we made them feel and how we treated them.
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
Customer Service in Higher Education
The customer is always right! Right? Well.. not quite.
Regardless whether one calls students “customers” or not, there are some basic tenets of the customer-service paradigm that could and should be utilized in higher education settings. Demetriou (2008) noted, “The quality of service we provide to students is important” (¶ 9). Thus, there are some specific tips that we can follow to provide quality service:
- Treat students with dignity and respect. This is a basic human necessity and right.
- Give students clear directions on how to solve their problems and issues. Students should not be given the run-around. Students are at college to learn and grow in in a safe environment, not go on a wild goose chase all over campus trying to find the answers to simple questions.
- Be responsive to students and their parents.
- Give honest answers to any questions you receive and do your best to help our residents/guests get in touch with the best resource for what they need.
Safety as a Key Component to An Exceptional Experience:
Our primary goal should always be to ensure the safety of our community members. Accurately maintaining logs, keeping track of what is happening at the night desk, and signing in guests are all examples of things we do to maintain safety in our halls. To assist in ensuring the safety of our residents, we expect the following from all staff:
- Following all protocol and policies as directed by The College of New Jersey
- Actively and consistently monitoring what is happening in your assigned work area
- Communicating to the CA on duty, SMRO, or professional staff when you see something out of the ordinary
- Maintaining clean office and work spaces