The Student as Customer
March 31, 2014
Mickey Baines
Welcome & Introductions
Introductions & Goals for this session
 Define service in higher education
 Higher Education from your students’
perspective
 Share a model to institutionally improve service
 Offer ideas for resolving service issues and
providing support to staff “on the front lines”
Introductory Exercise
 Partner-up with someone next to you
 Have each member take a turn to share based on
instructions given
 Take 3-4 minutes
What is exceptional service?

vs.
Dos Equis vs. Coronas
and CJ Skender 4
Student & Customer Relationship
Primary & Supporting Customers 1
Who are they?
David and Goliath 2:
How do you engage your students?
Is your approach diversified, and has it been
updated within the past 5 years?
Serving your “Primary Customer” in Higher Ed
Differentiating “Customer Service”:
Wal-Mart, Zappos & the Community College
Watch short video 3
Addressing Service Institutionally
It’s about perspective
 What is your mission?
 What is their mission?
Develop a Foundation
 Establish baseline
 Instill at all levels
 Differentiate support by level
Critical Service Opportunities
The Run-Around
 Resolve the student’s problem
 Find the root cause
 Bring all involved parties together to understand
process and perspective
Diffusing Tense Situations
 Three Steps
“Your actions speak so loudly,
I can’t hear your words.”
John Maxwell.
“Seek first to understand,
then to be understood,”
Stephen Covey.
“When we move out of ourselves and into
the other person’s experience, seeing the
world with that person, as if we were that
person, we are practicing empathy. ”
Arthur Ciaramicoli & Katherine Ketcham
Leading Those on the Front Lines
Researchers conduct an experiment on
college students 6:
Chocolate Cookies and Radishes
Self-control and Will-power
The Elephant & the Rider
Understanding the significance of change
Hiring the right staff
An Aside
A Case Study: A Comedian’s Perspective
What goes into writing a joke?
 Watch short video 7
How much time does he give to each joke?
And how does that impact his audience
members’ experience?
Do we give equally to each 1-3 minute
experience of our students?
Closing
 Questions
Contact information:
Mickey Baines
mickey@fourthdimensionpartners.com
484.525.0550
Works Cited
1. Drucker, Kotler, et al. The Five Most Important Questions
You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization, 2008.
2. Gladwell, Malcolm. David and Goliath, 2013.
3. Grant, Adam. Give and Take, 2013.
4. “Inside Zappos,” CBS Sunday Morning, Erin Moriarty,
CBS.
5. Burg, Bob. Adversaries into Allies, 2013.
6. Heath, Chip & Dan, Switch, 2010.
7. “Jerry Seinfeld – How to Write a Joke,” New York Times,
2012.