Talking Stick - September/October 2013 - 44

Conversations

Serving Students as Residents and as Customers
Members discuss how improving their customer service in specific
areas has bettered their on-campus experience for students and
parents.
Participating in this conversation are Susan Stubblefield, assistant director of residence
life at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Mannix Clark, associate director
of housing and residential life at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Aaron
Lucier, associate director of operations at East Carolina University in Greenville, North
Carolina; and Javier Gutierrez, director of residential life at Hamline University in Saint
Paul, Minnesota.

AARON LUCIER

SUSAN
STUBBLEFIELD

Talking STiCk

Susan Stubblefield: When I think about our
customer service, I think our first step has
been to have our staff understand that we have
values that support both student development
and customer service. While at times it may
feel as though we need to sacrifice one in order
to support the other, I believe our staff have
found ways to manage both values in a variety of
settings.
The university provides the students with an
opportunity to update their privacy and access
preferences online and indicate if they are
willing to have information shared with parents
or other identified people. Some examples
include their student account balance and
their student conduct records. When our staff
are speaking with students and parents, they
remind them of these available options. When
a parent calls to discuss a student conduct
situation, sometimes our staff can speak
candidly with a parent and share specific
information about their student, while ensuring
that the privacy of other students involved is
kept confidential. Other times, our staff can
speak hypothetically and provide the parent
or guardian with enough information to help
explain our processes, while also helping the
parent to understand our educational philosophy

on student conduct.
We also have an expectation that staff
exchange email communication, with no
more than one or two exchanges. If a response
prompts the sender with follow-up questions,
it has been our practice to contact that person
by phone to help clarify more complicated
information. This is not only a great personal
touch, but also helps keep the situation under
calmer levels of communication.
We do training with our information
desk staff on customer service on a regular
basis. Each fall, we provide a one-hour, hands-on
central training session on customer service. We
do a similar session at the beginning of the
summer conference season with our summer
assistants. Each session is tailored to the type of
issues that will arise during different parts of the
year. Those of you at the University of Minnesota
for the Professional Standards Institute or
STARS College got to experience some of our
great customer service provided by the staff
members. They like to have fun at the desk
by engaging people in conversation or being
attentive to helping answer questions, which just
keeps them more engaged in their work.
Our department is part of auxiliary services

Talking Stick - September/October 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - September/October 2013