Key to Quality Customer Service

Customers will continue to patronize businesses that:

• welcome them,
• are helpful,
• are accessible and
• provide quality services.

The key to providing quality services to customers with disabilities is to remember that all customers are individuals. Persons with disabilities come in all shapes and sizes with diverse personalities, abilities, interests, needs and preferences. The following are some basic tips for interacting with customers who have disabilities. However, in most cases the best way to learn how to assist customers with disabilities is to ask them directly. As always, don’t take offense if your assistance is refused.

As a docent, volunteer or museum staff person, your responsibility is to offer assistance to the museum’s patrons. Think about how you offer assistance and how your offer to help may be perceived by the individual. Consider the specific circumstance or situation when you assist a patron who has a disability.

Always ask:
“May I assist you?”

Follow up by asking:
“How may I assist you?”

Offer the patron the opportunity to state what assistance they may prefer. This will provide you with an easy way to accomplish your responsibilities as a customer service agent. If necessary, practice a few good sentences in your head and be ready to use them. Other examples include: “May I be of assistance?”; “Would you like assistance?” You will encounter people who appreciate your assistance and others who may reject your every effort to be helpful. There are numerous reasons why an individual may not want or need your assistance.

Etiquette considered appropriate when interacting with customers with disabilities is based primarily on respect and courtesy. Listen and learn from what the customer tells you regarding his or her needs.

Remember these general tips for quality customer service:

• See the person who has a disability as a person, not as a disability.
• Relax. As a docent, volunteer or museum staff person you are there to assist all of your patrons, with or without disabilities, to enjoy their cultural experience.
• Listen to the customer.
• Maintain eye contact without staring.
• Treat the customer with dignity, respect, and courtesy.
• In an effort to be helpful, people tend to talk much louder than necessary. Remember there is no disability which is served in this manner; don’t yell.
• Don’t “talk down”. Avoid responding to people with disabilities out of “gratefulness” for not having a disability yourself.
• DO NOT touch or otherwise distract a service animal. Dog guides, hearing dogs, and service dogs are all working.
• Speak directly to the individual, not to a companion or an interpreter.
• Extend the usual social courtesies. If you shake hands, offer your handshake to all.
• Ask the customer to tell you the best way to help and listen to their response.
• Offer assistance, but do not insist on providing it.
• Be considerate. Let the patron set the pace walking and talking.
• Keep the patron informed… communicate! Let them know what is going on if there is a delay or other unexpected situation.
• Deal with unfamiliar situations in a calm, professional manner and get assistance from a co-worker if necessary.

When conducting a tour that includes visitors with disabilities, remember these general rules:

• Map out the tour route ahead of time and give this information to patrons before the tour begins, so that the person(s) knows what to expect. Include details about tour length and physical terrain.
• Provide visitors with a simple floor plan before the tour begins. A tactile map would be best for visitors who are blind or have visual impairments.
• Allow extra time between exhibits and do not rush the patron. Often disabilities can become exaggerated when the person is under stress or is rushed. Shorten the tour if needed. Allow persons with disabilities to drop out of the tour if necessary.
• Try not to give information to patrons when traveling between exhibits. Sometimes patrons need to focus their energy on getting from one place to another, rather than auditory information.
• If you offer assistance, do not take offense if it is refused.