Balancing Great Service with Staff Wellbeing and Boundaries

Live Date: Wednesday 29th January 2026

Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM GMT

Location: Live on Zoom

Recording Available: 12 months after the session

Price: £75 or FREE for Empower members

We’ve all heard it: “The customer is always right.” But what happens when they’re not?

Library staff are expected to offer friendly, professional service—sometimes in the face of rudeness, manipulation, or even aggression. But excellent customer service shouldn't come at the expense of staff wellbeing.

This 2-hour session helps library leaders, managers, and supervisors find the balance: how to offer kind, inclusive service while also protecting your team from burnout, harm, or toxic patterns. You’ll learn how to recognise when a customer is no longer aligned with your values, how to set kind but firm boundaries, and how to build a culture that puts people before performative service.

What We’ll Cover

Challenging the Myth:

• Why “The Customer is Always Right” can undermine kindness and safety

• Reframing the mantra: “The customer is always the customer—but not always the right one”

When to Set Limits or Let Go:

• How to identify when a customer relationship becomes harmful

• What it means to “fire a customer” with fairness and clarity

• Examples of difficult behaviours and values-based responses

Prioritising the Internal Customer:

• How employee experience shapes public service

• Making staff wellbeing part of your customer strategy

• Supporting teams who face difficult service interactions

Kindness-Led Cultures that Still Serve Brilliantly:

• Leading with values and boundaries, not just policies

• How to attract and retain the right kind of community engagement

• Lessons from employee-first organisations—what libraries can borrow

You’ll Walk Away With:

• Language and scripts for setting limits with clarity and kindness

• Leadership strategies for supporting frontline staff in real time

• Tools to evaluate customer alignment with your values

• A team reflection guide to explore your service culture

• Ideas for building a healthier, braver internal culture

Who It’s For:

Library leaders, managers, and supervisors across public, academic, and specialist libraries—anyone responsible for staff support, service quality, or organisational culture.

Care Statement / Trigger Warning

This session may reference customer aggression, emotional distress, and leadership challenges. Please take breaks or pause as needed. The recording will be available for 12 months.