Question
Which English faculty member was instrumental in bring a Phi Beta Kappa Chapter to SMU?

The ER staff is currently reading the book Monday Morning Customer Service by David Reed and David Cottrell.  We have summarized the key points and also shared the ways we are presently applying the basic principles in our everyday work

Chapter 7: Be Realistic and Optimistic

Be careful to set expectations accurately.  If possible, leave room to surprise your customers by exceeding their expectations.
We tell parents and students that we will return a call or respond to an email before the close of the business day.  We often exceed this expectation by calling them much earlier than 5:00 which comes as a surprise to them and is very much appreciated.

Don’t pad numbers or time estimates excessively, but give yourself a 95% or better chance to meet or beat the estimate.
We try to set realistic time goals when dealing with our families.  Some questions require that the situation be researched and may involve more than one person or office. What we can not do is set unrealistic expectations for ourselves or the other areas.  The main thing we try to do is keep families aware of where we are in the process.

Give potential customers an accurate picture of your product or service.  Don’t get carried away with marketing materials only to have a guest leave disappointed.
All information sessions should provide accurate information on what families can expect here at SMU.  We try to not exaggerate the services we offer but rather present an accurate picture of the university processes and procedures.

Chapter 8: Recover Right
We need to look at guest complaints as valuable feedback that gives us an opportunity to improve our services.
This chapter deals with recovering the right way when a service complaint is received.  The ER team is the “ears” of the Division of Enrollment Services, we hear the concerns that parents and students have about various issues or processes.  We share this information at our ER meetings or if something requires immediate attention we take the concern to a manager in the appropriate department.  Feedback from our families allows us to know what works and what needs to be changed.

The recovery needs to be immediate and appropriate for the mistake.
It’s difficult for us to “recover” quickly from some system issues.  We do assure our “customers” that we are doing all we can as quickly as possible to help resolve their problem.  The chapter stresses that we must take ownership of mistakes.  Sometimes all we can do is apologize, try to calm them down and then work diligently to resolve the problem.

A successful ‘recovery’ can turn an upset person into a loyal customer, more than paying back the cost to fix the original mistake.
Customers don’t forget attitudes.  This includes attitudes of everyone in the organization not just the frontline people.  The most important factor that separates an exceptional organization from an average one is how you respond to a customer complaint or service issue.  One underutilized tool for dealing with complaints is a simple, “I’m sorry that this has happened to you”. 

We must develop a culture where frontline staff members are comfortable involving their leaders when it is in the best interest of the customer.
While we can resolve many concerns or issues of our families eventually some will insist on speaking to someone who is in “charge” or can make the exception they are seeking. When the parent wants to speak to a manager we do not hesitate to get them in contact with the appropriate manager as soon as possible.  However we do not set unrealistic expectations that the manager’s position on a policy will be any different than what we have already tried to share and explain.