Temple has earned a reputation as a place where students can expect to encounter an extraordinary amount of red tape. Most Temple students have at least one story about being given the “Temple-run-around.” They complain about being sent from office to office, without reason or logic, before they finally reach their destination. They gripe about rude receptionists who often seem to have no idea what is going on.
Luckily for us, Temple has become increasingly aware of this issue. After President Adamany’s mandate to improve customer service, many Temple departments are making an active effort to correct this problem. The Division of Student Affairs will be the first to assess their customer service practices. They are working with Service Advantage International (SAI), a private consulting firm that has worked with several Fortune 500 companies.
They are using three methods in their analysis: mystery shopping, exit interviews and focus groups. So far, information about the quality of Temple’s customer service has been largely anecdotal. Now, Student Affairs will be using a scientific approach to assess and improve their customer service.
With all this investigating going on, I could not resist the temptation to do a little research of my own. To determine the quality of Temple’s current customer service, I first became a mystery shopper.
Mystery shopping is a popular technique used by many corporations. A trained individual enters a store or office undercover and interacts with the people working there. Then, the agent reports back to the corporation headquarters about the experience.
For my research, I decided to call almost all of the main campus advising offices and ask them an easy question. I wanted to see how I would be treated and if the offices would be able to answer my question or direct me to someone else who could.
Pretending to be an adult student who once took classes at a community college, I phoned the advising offices and asked them what the application procedures were for an adult student. I also asked if my credits from a community college would transfer to Temple.
With a few exceptions, the offices either gave me good information right away, or offered to transfer me to an advisor who could help. The Fox School of Business gave me the most accurate information, and the School of Education had the friendliest and most personable receptionist. The College of Liberal Arts did not answer its phone after I called three times over a two-hour period. The receptionist at the Department of Public Health accidentally hung up the first time I called and was a bit rude. I then tried doing exit interviews. I stood outside Student Financial Services and asked students on their way out a few questions about their experience. My results were not nearly as positive as those from my mystery shopping. Of the five students I interviewed over a half-hour, only three were mostly satisfied with their experience. The other two had less positive things to say.
“You get pushed like you’re a number too much here,” said Scott Toka, an undergraduate at Temple. “I’ve been to three state colleges and never have I felt like I do Daniel Kristie
Staff Writer
Temple has earned a reputation as a place where students can expect to encounter an extraordinary amount of red tape. Most Temple students have at least one story about being given the “Temple-run-around.” They complain about being sent from office to office, without reason or logic, before they finally reach their destination. They gripe about rude receptionists who often seem to have no idea what is going on.
Luckily for us, Temple has become increasingly aware of this issue. After President Adamany’s mandate to improve customer service, many Temple departments are making an active effort to correct this problem. The Division of Student Affairs will be the first to assess their customer service practices. They are working with Service Advantage International (SAI), a private consulting firm that has worked with several Fortune 500 companies.
They are using three methods in their analysis: mystery shopping, exit interviews and focus groups. So far, information about the quality of Temple’s customer service has been largely anecdotal. Now, Student Affairs will be using a scientific approach to assess and improve their customer service.
With all this investigating going on, I could not resist the temptation to do a little research of my own. To determine the quality of Temple’s current customer service, I first became a mystery shopper.
Mystery shopping is a popular technique used by many corporations. A trained individual enters a store or office undercover and interacts with the people working there. Then, the agent reports back to the corporation headquarters about the experience.
For my research, I decided to call almost all of the main campus advising offices and ask them an easy question. I wanted to see how I would be treated and if the offices would be able to answer my question or direct me to someone else who could.
Pretending to be an adult student who once took classes at a community college, I phoned the advising offices and asked them what the application procedures were for an adult student. I also asked if my credits from a community college would transfer to Temple.
With a few exceptions, the offices either gave me good information right away, or offered to transfer me to an advisor who could help. The Fox School of Business gave me the most accurate information, and the School of Education had the friendliest and most personable receptionist. The College of Liberal Arts did not answer its phone after I called three times over a two-hour period. The receptionist at the Department of Public Health accidentally hung up the first time I called and was a bit rude. I then tried doing exit interviews. I stood outside Student Financial Services and asked students on their way out a few questions about their experience. My results were not nearly as positive as those from my mystery shopping. Of the five students I interviewed over a half-hour, only three were mostly satisfied with their experience. The other two had less positive things to say.
“You get pushed like you’re a number too much here,” said Scott Toka, an undergraduate at Temple. “I’ve been to three state colleges and never have I felt like I do here. They have such a small financial aid office for how many students?”
Another student, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “I think the consultants could probably learn better people skills. Whenever I have a problem, I go straight to Rich McCracken, the associate director of student financial services, who really helps me out. He genuinely cares about my situation.”
Based on this account of customer service within some other departments at Temple, it seems the entire school is a little spotty. Dr. Teresa Powell, vice president of the division of student affairs, hopes that her division’s effort to assess and improve their service practices will influence other Temple departments.
“It would be ideal if we could be the model for the entire university and have individuals emulate what we are doing,” Powell said. “I’m interested in sharing what we find with the rest of the University.”
Powell feels customer service at Temple is inconsistent, and the problem is not that Temple employees do not want to serve, but that they do not often think about how they could serve better.
“Sometimes individuals just want someone to listen,” Powell said. “It’s not that you can necessarily do anything about people’s problems. It’s just that you’re willing to take the time to understand what the customer is thinking and feeling.”
SAI will present its recommendations when it finishes its assessment of customer service within the Division of Student Affairs. Powell will then see that these recommendations are implemented.
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These offices will undergo customer service assessment:
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Daniel Kristie can be reached at Danielk@temple.edu.
Copyright 2018 The Temple News.
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