The Miami-Dade Public Library System developed a Five Star Customer Service Experience. With 48 branch locations we wanted to develop a standardized way to insure that our policy and procedures were being maintained throughout the Library System. We also wanted to make sure that our Five Star customer service model was acted upon by the entire library workforce.

Library staff from different levels was assigned to develop a tool to rate each branch experience. The areas of emphasis were Customer Service, Branch Operations, Fiscal Operations, Collections, and Facility Management. The tool developed is called Internal Branch Rating. It was decided that all branch libraries would be rated quarterly and results would be posted on the Libraries Intranet. Raters are the Assistant Director in charge of Branch Operations, the two Branch Operations Administrators and the 6 Library Branch Supervisors that actually supervises directly the branch managers. Standards were developed by branch staff for each category. All staff was advised about this tool.

How it works is simple. We visit each branch library quarterly and spend anywhere from 1-2 hours at the building and going through the checklist. Branch staff has no warning about when senior staff will be showing up. Internal Branch Ratings are given 0-100 points. The Five Star Customer Service is 35 points and it encompasses greeting customers, answering the phone within 3 rings etc… Great emphasis is placed upon this score as it is the backbone of the Library System. Branch Operations looks at work orders, maintenance of all employee records, and correct budgetary spending for supplies and computer maintenance. All branch staff is expected to report all problems and be aware of any maintenance issues. Collections are reviewed for materials that are updated and appropriate for the branch and to be sure that old and damaged materials are removed from the shelves. All money transactions and deposit procedures are reviewed for accuracy. Facilities are checked for clean bathrooms, indoor and outdoor clean spaces and uncluttered appearance of the branch.

The Internal branch Rating has markedly improved operations. It is a tool that can be changed as needed to emphasize different parts of library operations. It has assisted the Library System in standardizing operations. All scores and comments are posted on the library’s internal website as well as the County Managers’ Active Strategy Enterprise Program which is viewed quarterly by all Department Directors. Branches are challenged to improve their score in the next quarter. There are no “losers”; emphasis is placed on improving the quarterly score. Internal Branch Rating Scores are included in all evaluations form the Director to the Branch Manager’s level.