Secret Shopper

Secret Shopper

I approached the secret shopper readers’ advisory assignment in a slightly different way for a few reasons. Instead of interacting with the librarian to ask for a good read, I used my husband as a guinea pig and observed as the librarian helped him find his next book. The reason this avenue was chosen is because in previous exercises for other classes, when asked to interact with librarians to observe their style or techniques, I found myself unable to resist prompting them when their suggestions didn’t address my needs or questions. Frankly, I was steering them to the answer when they failed to even attempt offering the service I thought they should. This way, I could be the observer without interfering with the customer service delivery with my own preconceived notions of what the transaction should look like.

We stopped in a very nice, somewhat large, public library that caters not only to an affluent suburban area, but also to a large high school which is close by. In the adult fiction department, a desk is designated as a “Reader’s Advisory” service area. It is marked by a prominent sign. Behind the desk, a large number of reader’s advisory bookmark guides are available to aid patrons who may not have time for a transaction with an employee or the desire to interact. While my husband waited at the desk, I and my three-year-old daughter waited in a seating area nearby. I had a clear view of the desk and could hear most of the conversation, though my daughter was a bit of a distraction! Afterwards, I debriefed Kevin and we reflected on the interaction the next day as well.

The RA Transaction

My husband approached the RA desk and waited patiently for an employee to arrive. A pair of young people were standing there as well. I’m not sure if they were waiting on the librarian or just happened to be standing there, perhaps looking at information on the desk (signs etc.). They walked away a few minutes after the librarian arrived at the desk. Before he approached the desk, Kevin was instructed to ask for a good book to read and briefed that he might be asked about the last good book he read, and whether he wanted something similar or different. At the desk, he waited a little less than five minutes when a librarian came to the desk and greeted him. She said, “Hi, may I help you?” in a friendly low-key way. He responded, “I’m looking for a good book.” He explained without prompting or questioning what the last good book he read was Ike’s Bluff.  (Whoops! He’s always happy to help and so easy going, he didn’t wait for her to ask!) Kevin continued without being asked and explained that Ike’s Bluff  is a biography focused on a specific part of Eisenhower’s presidency. She replied, “So, that’s cold war- spy… are you thinking something similar?” He said, “Yes, but not necessarily a biography.” She replied, “Ok,” then she was working on the computer for what to him seemed like a long time. (It wasn’t really, but I noticed it and thought he might feel that way because she didn’t involve him in it or explain first before she typed and looked at the screen.) I also wondered if she was using the computer as “crutch”. She did not turn the screen or show him what she was looking for. After a few moments however, she explained to him, “I’m looking for something, but I want to make sure it’s here before I recommend it.” He says when she spoke she looked at him. From my vantage point I couldn’t tell, it seemed she was looking more at the screen. Then, she found what she was looking for and addressed him. After taking her hands of the computer keyboard and clasping them together, she said “Ok, one of the best books- maybe the best book- I read last year was, Spies in the Family. Its written by a woman whose father was a spy for the United States and it tells the story of him trying to recruit a Russian spy, and the friendship their families developed over time. No one in either family knew that the fathers were spies. Does that sound like it might fit what you’re looking for?” He said, “Yes! It sounds very good!” She continued, “It’s a new book that’s in re-shelving right now, so let’s go see if it’s on the shelf.” (Note, at first, she started to direct him to the area, then corrected herself and led him personally.) The librarian continued to tell Kevin about the book as they walked downstairs together. He responded, “It sounds like that TV show, the Americans!” (Note, this is in fact one of Kevin’s favorite shows!) The book was located on the new book shelf where she pulled it off the shelf and put it in his hands. They chatted amiably for a few seconds and then the transaction was at an end.

Analysis

Problems with Face-to-Face RA

Hollands (2006), argues for form based RA due to problematic assumptions that complicate the traditional face to face model for RA. Comparing Kevin’s experience to Neil Hollands’, “Improving the Model for Interactive Readers’ Advisory Service” illuminates some of these assumptions. “Assumption 1”, that patrons will approach a librarian for help in selecting leisure reading, she argues is inherently faulty. Either because patrons assume librarians are too busy or are unable to help, or the interaction makes them feel self-conscious, they are less likely to initiate face to face RA. This observation is borne out by Kevin’s experience. Because he is independent and doesn’t like to ask for help, and because he considered his area of interest (spies, cold war, history) “stereotypical white male” he was a bit embarrassed to ask for a recommendation. Holland notes that another assumption, that given time constraints on patrons and librarians, RA is difficult if not impossible, also resonates with this encounter. Kevin did not announce that he was in a hurry. The librarian did not seem to be in a hurry. However, an antsy three-year-old and a waiting wife sitting nearby might have added urgency to the situation! The encounter didn’t last longer than ten minutes. In my own experience, I know that management can send directives to ration time spent with patrons so that the maximum number of people can access the librarian and services, so the unseen hand of management may have impacted this interaction! Kevin did not feel rushed by the librarian, but Holland’s observation that time limitations impact the potential depth of RA conversations is valid.

Appeal

Something absent from this RA conversation is delving deeper into appeal elements, as defined by Joyce Saricks (2009). The librarian did identify appeal factors that are important to Kevin and that fit his interests by zeroing in on the time period – Cold War, and characters and plots, spies, secret agents and espionage. She named two factors immediately, “Cold war, spies.” She also picked up on the non-fiction status of Ike’s Bluff. She might have gone further by defining the appeal elements further by asking, “Will any spies do, or are you most interested in Russian spies? Do you prefer a particular setting? Does it have to be non-fiction?” Kevin wasn’t asked in an open-ended way what he liked about the book Ike’s Bluff. The librarian prompted him with “cold war, spies”, which was an accurate assessment, which he affirmed, but, she might have gone further. She identified Ike’s Bluff as non-fiction and Kevin clarified without being asked that he didn’t want a biography. Based on this conversation without further probing, she found the perfect book. But that doesn’t mean that it couldn’t have been better. She might have asked, “What did you like about Ike’s Bluff? What didn’t you like?” (Saricks 2009, p.8).

Tools

Chelton (2003) warns in “Readers’ Advisory 101” against OPAC dependence, and also against assuming you know what patrons want, “before they have finished explaining or before the librarian has finished eliciting enough information to understand the question.” She cautions that the computer, “keeps hands busy and the eyes away from the user when the brain stops.” This factor was definitely in play in the interaction I observed. Kevin felt she looked at him when she spoke, and of course her eyes were on the computer she was using, but it’s a fine line. Other techniques can soften the negative impact this action can have, such as turning the screen towards the patron, explaining what you are about to do before you do the search, and so on (Chelton,2003).

Customer Service

I asked Kevin about his perception of the quality of the customer service. “It improved along the way. At first, it was like, I felt awkward, because I don’t usually ask for help. I go looking on my own. I felt like I was asking for a stereotypical book for my ‘type.’” This embarrassed him. He observed that she was quiet a lot because she was typing and looking at the computer screen. To him it felt like a long time, but in reality, the entire interaction was probably ten minutes total in length. Once she started explaining her recommendation, he felt the experience improved. If it was a real interaction, Kevin notes he might have behaved differently, perhaps asked about a specific author. Because he is so easy going, Kevin was easily directed towards the book. Also, because he wasn’t really looking, and the first suggestion was such a good fit, in fact such an outstanding recommendation that he actually checked it out, he just went along with it!

Success: Kevin was so pleased with the recommendation he actually checked the book out and is quite excited to read it.

What might have been improved upon:

If Kevin had not been satisfied with the first suggestion, we might have gathered more information on whether the librarian might have deployed other techniques to find him a good book. I was surprised she didn’t follow up with more probing questions about if he would like fiction recommendations on the topic, or movies, or perhaps pick up on his love of “The Americans” to suggest other titles or movies. Having said that, because he was so happy and excited about the title suggested, there’s no point in dragging it out! A middle solution to this might have been to offer him a bookmark from the display behind the desk that offered more suggestions.

What went well

The presence of the Reader’s Advisory desk, clearly marked with signage and surrounded by other readers’ advisory tools, such as bookmarks with read-alike suggestions, sends a strong signal to patrons that questions on the topic are welcome and legitimate. Though some textbook RA common mistakes were made, the librarian certainly hit the jackpot with her recommendation of Spies in the Family. She also exhibited follow through (Chelton, 2003), by walking Kevin to the physical location of the book, placing it in his hands, affirming once again it was what he wanted, and asking him if he needed anything else.