Tips for working smoothly with patrons who come and go

As we continue to adjust to new workflows in LibraryH3lp, and as the service became increasingly busy this fall, there have been several questions about how to work with patrons who come and go from the chat.

There are 3 new FAQs available that address different types of patron behaviour and provide tips and best practices for providing the best possible experience for AskAway visitors.

You can find the new FAQs in the LibraryH3lp FAQs and they're linked individually below:

• What are the guest status (offline / available) system messages?
  • These are the system messages you see when a patron navigates away from chat or returns. This FAQ explains what's happening on the patron's side of things and tips to work with them more smoothly, such as asking them to pop-out the chat into a new window.
• What are some tips for working with patrons who leave before their chat is picked up?
  • Have you seen those chats where a patron navigates away before their chat is claimed? This FAQ includes a new script that you can send to patrons to let them know they can always send another message to start a new chat.
• What are some tips for working with patrons who return to say thanks after the chat was closed?
  • Have you seen a new chat come in where the patron says "Thanks for your help" or "Goodbye"? This FAQ has tips for handling these calls smoothly.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or additional tips to share, please let us know at the Admin Centre!