YES is the answer, now what was the question: Customer Service

My Dad used to say: "YES! is the answer. Now, what was your question?" This was always in connection with customer service. I grew up with it, and it is a part of my very being. That phrase has helped shape who am I and why I will do whatever it takes to find a solution.

From the time of my very first job, I have always believed that "Customer Service" is the key, regardless of who the "customers" are.

Over the years, I have learned from my mistakes (like not asking the customer if their computer had a 3.5-inch floppy drive or a 5.25-inch drive, thus getting cussed at for selling the wrong media) and I have grown in my conviction that no matter what title I hold, I will do what I need to do.

I am slowly (albeit VERY slowly) coming to see that I can have assistance without appearing as though I can't accomplish something. Sometimes, I just have to stop and say, "I'm going to need your help getting this done for (insert customer)."

I refuse to accept "It can't be done" as the answer. It may not be done the way was originally intended, but a solution can be found for any situation.

I once read somewhere:

1. I can do it cheaply.2. I can do it well.3. I can do quickly.
Pick any two.

While I find that hilarious in my demented form of humor, I aim to hit all three whenever possible. That is part of my "Customer Service" mentality, I suppose. I hate knowing that someone I am trying to help can't succeed because of some stumbling block. In my mind, stumbling blocks and roadblocks are just things in the way that we have to figure out how to navigate around, over, or through.  Many times, I will not wait for someone else to come up with a solution - I'll come up with something, even if it is temporary, to reach the intended goal.

This doesn't make me "Superman" or mean that I walk on water. It means that I work my hardest to help everyone I am charged with helping, and stepping up to help those that aren't directly within the group of folks I usually support.

Sometimes, I fail miserably. But, after I get up from being knocked down and try to take away a lesson learned so that next time, I can try to avoid the same mistakes.

Why am I telling you all this?  Because I believe "Customer Service," and I mean REAL service to the customer, is a dying art. No matter what you do for a living, no matter if is a paid position or volunteer, know who your "customers" are and what they need. Learn who they are. Learn what they need. Take time to listen - not just hear, but listen. And, above all, take action as soon as you can to solve problems that arise.

Taking action can land you in some seriously hot water sometimes, too. Sometimes, you have to "tell it like is" or have a "come to Jesus" meeting about a situation. As long as you have the customer's best interest at heart, you really won't do wrong.  Taking action may mean a bit of research before implementing a solution. Fine. But, get the research done and get into action solving the problem. Make calls, order equipment, hit your knees in prayer if you have to - Whatever it takes.

The next time you're faced with someone who says, "I have a question..." or "Can we..." Before they ask, think to yourself (or heck, say it out loud like my Dad would), "YES is the answer. What's the question?"

Asking the unGoogleable

Thanks to my ESSDACK Newsletter, I read an article that provokes some thought into teaching and testing. The overriding question is this: If students can find the direct answer on Google, then why do they need teachers?

The main point of the article is to raise students to higher level thinking. That is, ask open-ended questions that require research, development and incorporate a formulated opinion with sources to back up the responses.

Of course, it took all of 5 seconds for folks to start to Google the "UnGoogleable" questions. I loved the responses. Ultimately, a rubric for scoring and parameters regarding resources lies at the heart of the grading of such questions. For example, several Wikipedia entries can answer the questions. A well-crafted rubric might require students to seek out primary sources or at least corroborating sources.

 Now, mind you, this article is written specifically for History teachers. You can save any rhetoric on why students need to know basic math, etc, for another discussion. Or heck, start one here, why not?

Do we need to know names and places and dates in a laundry list when that laundry list is at the fingertips 24 hours a day? No. The key, though, is figuring how to incorporate that laundry list into meaningful, thought-provoking research. And, the research doesn't have to be 10 pages or even 3 pages. It can be a paragraph.

The article is worth a read, even if you aren't a History teacher:

http://historytech.wordpress.com/2013/08/09/if-they-can-google-it-why-do-they-need-you/

How the Curley Wolves Got Their Name

I am posting this here just in case the original gets lost somewhere/somehow:

How the Curley Wolves Got Their Name

HOW THE CURLEY WOLVES GOT THEIR NAME
(Clipped from September 24, 1933, issue of the ARKANSAS GAZETTE) 

About a dozen years ago, the Prescott team was scheduled to play the Little Rock High School Tigers here on Saturday afternoon. The GAZETTE's Sports Editor was out of the city, and one of the reporters was assigned to interview Coach Quigley of Little Rock Friday afternoon and to write an article about the impending game. 

Quigley told the reporter that the Prescott lads were very tough, and that he expected a hard game. But in putting the idea on paper, the reporter used an unfortunate expression. He said that the Tigers wre expecting a "good workout" which was totally different from the idea that Quigley had in mind. 

On the following Saturday, the Prescott team proceeded to administer a handsome beating to the Little Rock lads. 

About nine that night a Western Union messenger brought to the news editor's desk the following message from Prescott. 

"What do you think of the workout we gave your Tigers this afternoon? Prescott High School Football Team." 

When the news editor recovered from the shock, he wrote a few paragraphs intended to be humorous in which he expressed the idea that the Little Rock athletes had received a fine workout indeed. He expressed relief that the workout had been no more strenuous because if it had been, Little Rock wouldn't have had any football team left, and there were quite a few games remaining on the schedule. 

Over it, he wrote the following headline about the Prescott football team:

WE THINK THAT THE BOYS ARE CURLEY WOLVES

On the following Monday, morning assembly exercises at Prescott High School were turned into a celebration of the victory. The GAZETTE article and accompanying headline were read, and by unanimous vote "Curley Wolves" was adopted as the football team's official nickname. 

They've been Curley Wolves ever since. 

PRESCOTT'S FIRST FOOTBALL TEAM

In the fall of 1911, Mr. Adam Guthrie, who had the previous spring graduated at the University of Arkansas, and for three years had made a brilliant record as member of the Razorbacks, organized and coached Prescott High School's first football team. The team won a game and lost one with Hope High and lost to Texarkana High. 

*The above was taken from a Word Document off the Prescott, Arkansas, school website in Aug 2013. It also appears in at least one forum online (FearlessFriday).

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Wait... Is THIS what the "rains down in Africa" was about!?

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