Chipper’s finished putting up Holiday Lights in Woodstock Village yesterday. Last night the very dark November streets were all aglow. It took several guys several days to complete this intricate work so we can welcome our friends, family and visitors.
Speaking of welcome, we have a few thoughts as we move about the cabin. We met a fun lady from Montreal who came to visit Woodstock this past weekend, happy to embrace all manner of Vermont experiences: driving back roads, eating at diners and staying at the Woodstock Inn.
However, we hear that her welcome to the Village was seriously tempered from the get-go by a negative interaction with Woodstock Police. While our police department has new cruisers, new assault rifles and new commando-style outfits at some great expense, we wonder how much training our young recruits are getting in the “softer” — and less expensive — side of their work. Because we think an essential element of their job in this Village is purely public relations. It’s important. How our police department deals with the non-criminal public is as important as how they deal with the criminal public. We welcome visitors with lights, are we welcoming them with our powers of consideration, kindness and helpfulness?
A visitor from Montreal enjoys a great breakfast of huevos rancheros and great customer service at The WASP Diner in Woodstock
This woman from Montreal reports that as she came into town there was confusion as to how to get to accommodation of choice at The Woodstock Inn. She, with friend, saw a police cruiser and slowed to a stop in order to ask for directions. “Officer, how do we get to the Woodstock Inn?” The response, from our Montreal friend’s point of view and report, was curt, dismissive and bordering on insubordinate. Perhaps the officer was stressed, focused on another situation. However, a simple, “I’d be happy to help you….I’ll be with you in a minute.” would have been a nice start to the conversation.Woodstock Early Bird concedes we weren’t there to know the full back-and-forth or situation. However, it is worth asking at all levels (including our own): Are we doing everything we can to welcome people whether it’s their first time or their hundredth visit to town?
The National Park Service is known for the positive reputation of its rangers posted around the country. That is no accident. The NPS spends an exceedingly large amount of time and money with training its park rangers — weeks at a time before they are allowed “into the field” in something very simple: CUSTOMER SERVICE. What stuck with Woodstock Early Bird following her NPS training is this idea: While it may be the 500th time you are asked where the bathrooms are or where the Woodstock Inn is or how much is your coffee, for the visitor or guest or customer it is THE VERY FIRST TIME. We shouldn’t take it out on folks who generally need some help that their question is one that makes our eyes roll back into our head.
Woodstock Early Bird has been known — on more than one occasion — to lose patience with a guest or a customer and has been called out on it so we “get it” about the stress of trying to serve every single member of the public equally well. Sometimes we have taken out our tiredness or stress on them.
Pretty much this is the end of our holiday customer service primer: If someone asks for help, let’s try to help them, EH? Our new friend from Montreal would sure appreciate that. It’d also be nice if the Woodstock Police Department’s younger and less experienced recruits “got it” that policing is not just about preparing for intense, dangerous black-suited SWAT-team commando operations but also “gettin’ with the people” one person at a time. There is — luckily — still a perception among many that police are actually here to help. Woodstock Early Bird has had wonderful assistance from WPD public servants. Let’s capitalize on that perception and keep it that way.
(One aside on customer service OVERKILL: Keep it real, people. Woodstock Early Bird was on the line with AT&T yesterday and found the greeting from the call center person incomprehensible: “How can I put a SPARKLE in your day?!” Say WHAT??? Please, many of us don’t want a “sparkle in our day” we just want some reasonable service. Upon giving the call center operator a credit card number, said operator reads from text: “Oh, that’s is just AWESOME!” Gag us with a spoon. No sparkle, just service, please — especially from PUBLIC SERVANTS.
Julia Carlisle
Woodstock Early Bird 