Page 23 - Laker Connection Fall 2010

“Ask Me!” volunteers help students get acquainted with the campus. Amero (far left) and the Green Initiative offer recycling opportunities to campus.
Academic Success, the Director of the Center for Instructional Development, and the academic advisors. The end goal of the Academic Advising Initiative was to improve the process’ overall per- formance so that advising would be faster, friendlier and provide easier ac- cess to students.
The training course’s purpose was to reinforce what the attendees already know about good customer service and to offer new methods for creating a pos- itive customer service experience for every customer. Both Amero and trainer Joyce Sandusky say that the training did far more than teach customer service.
“We were surprised that a lot of peo- ple wanted and appreciated the tips and tools for saying ‘no,’” notes Sandusky. “Customer service training teaches you life skills.”
“Sometimes, the training helped create an attitude shift when the partici- pants saw the value of the materials and activities. There are a lot of tips and techniques they could take back to their departments,” adds Amero. “It was time well-spent.”
Shortly after concluding the training, there were two new customer service initiatives to roll out in the summer of 2008, both of which continue to the present. One involves providing infor- mation (Ask Me!), and the other looks for customer feedback (Tell Us!).
The “Ask Me!” program is a partner- ship between the Customer Service Team and Office of Campus Life that helps welcome newcomers to the Uni- versity in the week before the start of fall and spring semester classes. Featuring welcome tents and student volunteers wearing bright orange T-shirts, “Ask Me!” starts three to four days prior to the start of classes. The success of this on- going program was recognized in 2009 with a bronze medal by the University System of Georgia in the Improvement Initiative category of the annual Chan- cellor Customer Service Awards.
“Clayton State University is commit- ted to customer service,” says Clayton State Vice President of Business and Operations Corlis Cummings. “It im- pacts the lives of all of our students, fac- ulty, staff and visitors.
“Tell Us!” is a program that asks for information – a standardized customer service feedback form. Available in 10 to 12 boxes around campus, this pro- gram is a tool to measure how success- ful Customer Service is at Clayton State, and is in keeping with the governor’s customer service initiative, which man- dates a measurement function in cus- tomer service plans.
Also on-going is a broader training program under the heading of the “Art of Exceptional Customer Service,” that provides training for any and all inter-
ested Clayton State employees.
In terms of the overall success of the Customer Service program, Amero says that the support of leaders and/or administrators is an important part in the organization’s buy-in to customer service. “When leaders in an organization support this, it sets a great example,” she says. “People follow a leader. They see that leaders value customer service, which starts from the top down. It’s im-
portant all the way through the line.”
“Tell Us!” boxes are located throughout campus, and give students, faculty, staff and visitors the op- portunity to give the University customer feedback.
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