Is every person a service provider???

[joey311]

Hi all

Does anyone think that every person in paid employment a service provider??

I ask this because below is a comment made by a head teacher in response to a question aimed at determining the extent to which staff see students as customers of a service they are instrumental in offering.

Actually, I do see us as service providers ... possibly more so now than in the past. I suppose the reason for this is that everywhere you go people are talking about customer service and quality. I expect good service from all sorts of people these days. So why shouldn't my students expect it from me? I suppose that I use several ways to give good customer service. One way is that I make myself available to students at key times of the day. Like in the hour before evening classes start. This used to mean that they could come and see me. Now I make a point of walking around the building, talking to students waiting for classes to start. I've found that informal chats give me feedback on all sorts of things. I'm working hard at becoming a good questioner and listener. I always try to remember that listening without action is worse than doing nothing. I write what students tell me in a notebook that I now always carry around with me. These notes are the first thing I deal with the next morning. Some problems are quite easy to deal with ‑ like chasing publishers to get stock into the college bookshop. Some take a bit longer. Sometimes I phone students to tell them that I'm still working at solving whatever problem they've raised with me. I can see the benefits for me in focusing on customer service. Fewer students drop out. Also, problems are dealt with before students get stressed and angry. We're all winning.

Interested in hearing your points.
Cheers

 

[vanputten]

In my opinion, all people working within a system have customers, internal, or external, or both. I say that because I beleive all processes within a system are inter-realted with other processes. We execute processes and the output is an ionput to another process. No processes stand alone. If we accept this, then all people working within the organization's processes have "customers."

Who is the customer of the education system? The students? Society? Parents? Families?

I can't imagine concluding that faculty and administration (all of them) within a school system do not have a customer, and therfore, are not service providers.

 

[bobdoering]

Who is the customer of the education system? The students? Society? Parents? Families?

I can't imagine concluding that faculty and administration (all of them) within a school system do not have a customer, and therefore, are not service providers.

In my mind, the students are my customers. I provide a product to them in the form of instruction. However, they are not always the best at utilizing the product - similar to other products on the market.

For example, when I address the point of college students attending class, I tell them that they spend a certain amount of money for tuition and books. Let's say $200 (yes, I know it is typically a lot more). Skipping half of the classes, or accepting a 'C' as 'good enough' is like going to the grocery store, buying $200 worth of groceries, and walking out with only $100 worth. When the checkout person asks about the other $100, you just say "aw, just keep it..." They do that with their education...would they do it elsewhere? Typically not.

It is an odd relationship. That is what makes the effectiveness so difficult to measure. If you have 100% effective process only used 50% - is that observed overall effectiveness a teaching issue? You can provide the cold, clear, cool water...but you can't make 'em drink.