Clinic Etiquette
1. SHOW UP!! You should receive an email reminder a few days ahead of your clinic but even if you don’t, it’s your responsibility to be there.
2. GO TO THE RIGHT PLACE! We have clinics at several different Lowe’s and Farmers Markets – be sure you go to the right location at the right time.
3. Dress appropriately. Neat and clean with a badge at all times.
4. Show up at least 15 minutes early to set up and get the lay of the land. If you’re not familiar with the location, you might stop by at an earlier clinic to see where they are and how things are set up.
5. Food and drink are OK if they’re discrete. Do not put any food or drink on the table – spills ruin our publications and our tablecloths.
6. Using your smart phone for research is fine. If your phone rings or you receive a text handle it quickly, step away from the table if necessary. By the same token, if a customer takes a cell phone call while you're talking to him/her, put a bookmark in the page, set the book aside and move on to the next customer. When the customer is ready to talk, pick up where you left off.
Clinic Box
All clinic boxes are exactly the same in contents and organization. Take time to become familiar with them when it’s slow at your clinics. At the end of the clinic shift, please take a few extra minutes to organize the books and binders in the clinic box the way you found it. Shoving them in or randomly stacking them on top results in trashed or lost reference materials. The tablecloth should be neatly folded and put back in its protective cover. Please don't add anything that is not listed on the box inventory. Weight is a big issue with these boxes. You may bring additional resources to your shift; be sure to put your name on them and take them with you when your shift is complete.
Behave Professionally
Please remember we are GUESTS of the store or venue hosting the clinic. It is TOTALLY inappropriate and unethical to make disparaging remarks about the host’s employees, products, services or prices. We don’t even distribute Master Gardener Plant Sale flyers at our clinics. The welcome of our host stores depends on all of us to be flexible and behaving in a professional manner.
Schedule Changes
The clinics that are assigned to you are yours to staff. If something comes up that prevents you from working a clinic, it is your responsibility to find a substitute. Veterans can fill intern slots but interns cannot fill veteran slots unless they are familiar enough with the reference materials and location to act as a veteran.
Ask the Alternates listed first if they are available to take your shift. If you make a shift change, be sure to notify the clinic coordinator, by phone or email, of what you have worked out so the correct person is sent the reminder. You are responsible for attending the shift until the website has been updated.
Interns
If you need to make a change, the following steps, in this order, should be helpful:
1 - Call interns on your clinic schedule to see if they can trade spots. This keeps you with your 4 clinics.
2 - Call the interns listed in the Alternates List at the bottom of the schedule (if any).
3 - Send out an email to SNOMGINTERNS specifically asking for an intern.
4 - Send out an email to SNOMG specifically asking for veterans.
Take advantage of this year to observe and learn at each of the clinics you attend. Each location has its own peculiarities which you will be expected to know next year when you are veterans.
2. GO TO THE RIGHT PLACE! We have clinics at several different Lowe’s and Farmers Markets – be sure you go to the right location at the right time.
3. Dress appropriately. Neat and clean with a badge at all times.
4. Show up at least 15 minutes early to set up and get the lay of the land. If you’re not familiar with the location, you might stop by at an earlier clinic to see where they are and how things are set up.
5. Food and drink are OK if they’re discrete. Do not put any food or drink on the table – spills ruin our publications and our tablecloths.
6. Using your smart phone for research is fine. If your phone rings or you receive a text handle it quickly, step away from the table if necessary. By the same token, if a customer takes a cell phone call while you're talking to him/her, put a bookmark in the page, set the book aside and move on to the next customer. When the customer is ready to talk, pick up where you left off.
Clinic Box
All clinic boxes are exactly the same in contents and organization. Take time to become familiar with them when it’s slow at your clinics. At the end of the clinic shift, please take a few extra minutes to organize the books and binders in the clinic box the way you found it. Shoving them in or randomly stacking them on top results in trashed or lost reference materials. The tablecloth should be neatly folded and put back in its protective cover. Please don't add anything that is not listed on the box inventory. Weight is a big issue with these boxes. You may bring additional resources to your shift; be sure to put your name on them and take them with you when your shift is complete.
Behave Professionally
Please remember we are GUESTS of the store or venue hosting the clinic. It is TOTALLY inappropriate and unethical to make disparaging remarks about the host’s employees, products, services or prices. We don’t even distribute Master Gardener Plant Sale flyers at our clinics. The welcome of our host stores depends on all of us to be flexible and behaving in a professional manner.
Schedule Changes
The clinics that are assigned to you are yours to staff. If something comes up that prevents you from working a clinic, it is your responsibility to find a substitute. Veterans can fill intern slots but interns cannot fill veteran slots unless they are familiar enough with the reference materials and location to act as a veteran.
Ask the Alternates listed first if they are available to take your shift. If you make a shift change, be sure to notify the clinic coordinator, by phone or email, of what you have worked out so the correct person is sent the reminder. You are responsible for attending the shift until the website has been updated.
Interns
If you need to make a change, the following steps, in this order, should be helpful:
1 - Call interns on your clinic schedule to see if they can trade spots. This keeps you with your 4 clinics.
2 - Call the interns listed in the Alternates List at the bottom of the schedule (if any).
3 - Send out an email to SNOMGINTERNS specifically asking for an intern.
4 - Send out an email to SNOMG specifically asking for veterans.
Take advantage of this year to observe and learn at each of the clinics you attend. Each location has its own peculiarities which you will be expected to know next year when you are veterans.