1. Be in control of the Chat Conversation
- Keep the Chat flowing and gear the conversation toward a positive resolution.
- Use questions like “what brought you to our site today” and “how can I assist you?”
- Recap the Chat's outcome to ensure that you have understood the questions and nothing has been left unresolved.
- Close the Chat on a friendly / affirming note
2. Be Truly Helpful
- If Chat isn't truly helpful, patrons will not want to use this feature again. Remember to read between the lines and frame your answers in the most helpful way possible.
- Understand the question/problem and know when to forward this to a Librarian or other Department.
- Respond to questions as quickly as possible, if you need to find a resource (University web page, phone number etc) let the patron know you are looking this up and assure them you will be back ASAP.
3. Communicate Clearly/ Professionally
- Use good grammar, punctuation and spelling. Keep Emoticons to a minimum and avoid using library jargon and acronyms.
- Build rapport, trust, empathy and credibility by using warm language to convey a positive customer focused voice in Chat.
- Avoid phrases that could be construed as sounding sarcastic or viewed as negative.
4. Muti-task for Success
- You will have to become comfortable accessing and switching between resources ( Online catalog, databases, university webpages) to ensure that you give accurate information.
- Chat with multiple patrons at one time sometimes occurs, you will need to devote attention equal attention to each chat without compromising the success of each Chat.
- Use good judgment in determining how much time to spend on each Chat.
5. Exhibit Subject Matter Expertise
- Share Library / University knowledge that empowers patrons to meet their current and future needs.
- Share in depth knowledge of the Library / University web sites, resources , services and policies.
- Guide and mentor patrons in how to effectively use the Library / University web sites, resources, service and policies
