Putting the customer first: Total Quality and customer service at the British Library Document Supply Centre
Pilling, Stella. Interlending & Document Supply; Bradford Vol. 24, Iss. 2, (1996): 11-16.
Total Quality Management (TQM) has come to be quite widely used in libraries and information services in the last three or four years. TQM has its critics. It is very time-consuming; it requires persistence and commitment at all levels if it is to work - in particular total commitment and support at the top are needed; it can become mechanical, with the spirit being sacrificed to the letter; and it can be exploitative[1] in that it can be used as a means of getting staff to make themselves redundant. There are other reasons for lack of success[2]. Indeed, its success rate seems to be rather poor: a recent study in British industry[3] showed that although nearly two-thirds had introduced quality programmes only 8 per cent of firms rated them as totally successful; this leaves a larger number that were claimed to be moderately successful, but the results are still far from impressive. Maybe they were expecting too much too soon, maybe they neglected some of the numerous critical success factors[4].
TQM was developed for industrial production, not service organizations; some of the highly statistical procedures applicable in industry are not appropriate for libraries. That having been said, several major features of TQM are highly relevant: the emphasis on customers (including the concept of the internal customer), "getting it right first time", delegation of work, involvement ofstaff at all levels, process rather than function, and the need for continuous improvement[5]. There is also the important principle that quality must be appropriate to need, not necessarily intrinsically "high" (a Rolls-Royce car is not appropriate for a single person who uses it mainly for shopping in a crowded town). What TQM does is to bring these very desirable features together and provide a set of techniques for achieving improvement - techniques that have to be painstakingly learned. Several libraries claim considerable success in the application of TQM[6] although time is needed if full success isto be achieved.
The British Library Document Supply Centre as a source supplier
BLDSC has been pre-eminent in the world of document supply for over 30 years. During this period millions of items have been supplied to all corners of the world from its Boston Spa site in the north of England. Throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s it built up an enviable international reputation for its expertise in handling requests for documents of all types in a cost-effective and efficient manner. With its thousands of customers and the scale of its operations it could have been easy for BLDSC to become complacent and to rest on its laurels.
BLDSC is essentially a "source supplier" in the world of document supply, providing most of its products and services to "intermediate suppliers" such as university and company libraries. Direct contact with the end recipient of the item provided by BLDSC - be it photocopied article, book, thesis or microform - is much more limited, although the Centre has an extremely efficient and friendly customer services section which deals with enquiries of all types both from intermediaries and from end users. The importance of quality and customer service at BLDSC
Customer care has always been very important to BLDSC. A customer services department with a staff of 20 is responsible for responding to thousands of queries andproblems every week and for ensuring that customers are kept fully informed about changes to procedures or new developments. A recent step has been the creation of a new post of ARTTel (Automated RequestTransmission by Telecommunication)customer liaison officer to become the focal point for information and training about all the available automated methods whichcustomers can use to send in their requeststo BLDSC.
Regular customer courses and customer clinics are held at Boston Spa and at other locations in the UK and overseas. All registered customers are sent two free quarterly publications: Document Supply News keeps them up-to-date with the latest news for BLDSC, while the Customer Updates alert them to changes in procedure.
A more recent innovation is the programme of link-up events held around the UK at which existing and potential customers have the opportunity to learn more about BLDSC's range of products and services, to talk to experts and have hands-on experience. Representatives from BLDSC also attend professional conferences and exhibitions in many parts of the world, as delegates, speakers or stand personnel. BLDSC's marketing department has, in addition, launched a customer retention programme which involves arranging visits to the top UKcustomers in terms of numbers of requests sent in each year, in order to develop aneven closer relationship with large customers and to gain a clearer understanding of the issues facing them in their particular situation.
Total Quality Management (TQM) has come to be quite widely used in libraries and information services in the last three or four years. TQM has its critics. It is very time-consuming; it requires persistence and commitment at all levels if it is to work - in particular total commitment and support at the top are needed; it can become mechanical, with the spirit being sacrificed to the letter; and it can be exploitative[1] in that it can be used as a means of getting staff to make themselves redundant. There are other reasons for lack of success[2]. Indeed, its success rate seems to be rather poor: a recent study in British industry[3] showed that although nearly two-thirds had introduced quality programmes only 8 per cent of firms rated them as totally successful; this leaves a larger number that were claimed to be moderately successful, but the results are still far from impressive. Maybe they were expecting too much too soon, maybe they neglected some of the numerous critical success factors[4].
TQM was developed for industrial production, not service organizations; some of the highly statistical procedures applicable in industry are not appropriate for libraries. That having been said, several major features of TQM are highly relevant: the emphasis on customers (including the concept of the internal customer), "getting it right first time", delegation of work, involvement ofstaff at all levels, process rather than function, and the need for continuous improvement[5]. There is also the important principle that quality must be appropriate to need, not necessarily intrinsically "high" (a Rolls-Royce car is not appropriate for a single person who uses it mainly for shopping in a crowded town). What TQM does is to bring these very desirable features together and provide a set of techniques for achieving improvement - techniques that have to be painstakingly learned. Several libraries claim considerable success in the application of TQM[6] although time is needed if full success isto be achieved.
The British Library Document Supply Centre as a source supplier
BLDSC has been pre-eminent in the world of document supply for over 30 years. During this period millions of items have been supplied to all corners of the world from its Boston Spa site in the north of England. Throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s it built up an enviable international reputation for its expertise in handling requests for documents of all types in a cost-effective and efficient manner. With its thousands of customers and the scale of its operations it could have been easy for BLDSC to become complacent and to rest on its laurels.
BLDSC is essentially a "source supplier" in the world of document supply, providing most of its products and services to "intermediate suppliers" such as university and company libraries. Direct contact with the end recipient of the item provided by BLDSC - be it photocopied article, book, thesis or microform - is much more limited, although the Centre has an extremely efficient and friendly customer services section which deals with enquiries of all types both from intermediaries and from end users. The importance of quality and customer service at BLDSC
Customer care has always been very important to BLDSC. A customer services department with a staff of 20 is responsible for responding to thousands of queries andproblems every week and for ensuring that customers are kept fully informed about changes to procedures or new developments. A recent step has been the creation of a new post of ARTTel (Automated RequestTransmission by Telecommunication)customer liaison officer to become the focal point for information and training about all the available automated methods whichcustomers can use to send in their requeststo BLDSC.
Regular customer courses and customer clinics are held at Boston Spa and at other locations in the UK and overseas. All registered customers are sent two free quarterly publications: Document Supply News keeps them up-to-date with the latest news for BLDSC, while the Customer Updates alert them to changes in procedure.
A more recent innovation is the programme of link-up events held around the UK at which existing and potential customers have the opportunity to learn more about BLDSC's range of products and services, to talk to experts and have hands-on experience. Representatives from BLDSC also attend professional conferences and exhibitions in many parts of the world, as delegates, speakers or stand personnel. BLDSC's marketing department has, in addition, launched a customer retention programme which involves arranging visits to the top UKcustomers in terms of numbers of requests sent in each year, in order to develop aneven closer relationship with large customers and to gain a clearer understanding of the issues facing them in their particular situation.
Comments
Post a Comment