Customer Service, Even When You Don't Feel Like It
This past month has been a very busy month for us: school exams, shots, immigration physicals and paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. The old term "fix-me Friday" could be changed to "all-at-once August." In pediatrics this generally means get all the well exams, sport physicals, asthma evaluations, anxiety and depression evaluations, ADHD plans, etc., done before school starts and planned around the patient’s last vacation for the summer. Oh, and don’t forget, “I need everything on paper and faxed to the school, yesterday!”
All of a sudden you find you are less than amicable with the staff, they are less than excited to do one more kindergarten check up for you, and you wake in the morning wondering if you really want to go to work at all. That’s when I’d like to throw customer service out the window!
This month I thought it appropriate to address often-forgotten areas of customer service, beginning with the patient encounter.
The point of good customer service is to keep current customers and recruit new customers. Patients who are happy, tell their friends and so on. There are some simple ways to provide excellent customer service starting with the initial phone call. Always answer the telephone with a smile on your face —even if you don’t feel like smiling. If the telephone is answered by an unhappy person, that unhappiness is reflected in the tone of their voice or by the words that are used when communicating to the caller. All of us, at one time or another, have spoken on the telephone with someone who was obviously unhappy.You don’t need to see their face to know that they are bothered by your call and want to get off the telephone as soon as possible.
Patients do not need to feel your unhappiness when they are calling for appointments or questions. Anyone answering the telephone should sound like they have all the time in the word for the caller. Use the same techniques we use in the exam room: be attentive, get to the heart of the matter, repeat back what was said, and leave the door open for a return visit or return phone call. Remember, you never get a second chance for a good first impression.
Upon entering the clinic, the atmosphere should be inviting to patients and visitors. An inviting atmosphere does not mean cushy furniture, flat-screened televisions or a full coffee bar. Clinics with second-hand furniture, counter-top water coolers, fake fireplaces and hand me down magazines can be as inviting as the modern, state of the art, ergonomically designed clinics we see today. (Yeah, that’s us.)
What invites patients into the clinic, and keeps them coming back, is the way theyare greeted and processed throughout the visit. You may recall I mentioned having two focus groups during the planning phases of this clinic. One of the groups addressed the question: What would you like to see in the ideal clinic? Along with less paperwork, better appointment times and online scheduling, the primary characteristic participants desired in a clinic was feeling that the clinic actually wanted to help patients. Participants described encounters where they felt their clinic, and providers, were “bothered” by having to care for them or feeling like they were just another number or case.
It brought to mind my basic nursing classes on communication. We were instructed over and over again to refer to patients by their name — NOT the room number or reason for their visit (the ear in room 2, etc.). Develop an atmosphere where patients feel welcome and appreciated and are encouraged to return if they need your services in the future.
How you complete the patient visit can also impact the overall atmosphere of the clinic. How many times have we come upon a situation where there are two parties in conflict with each other? What does the atmosphere feel like to those who are not involved? Uncomfortable? You bet!
Patients and visitors walk past the reception desk when they enter and leave our clinic.Thanking them for their visit or just saying goodbye is a nice way to end their encounter with us. We are acutely aware of what people in the waiting area are able to hear and observe. If one patient or visitor is treated poorly, everyone else in the area will instantly become concerned about their own encounter. Think of the patient visit as having a guest in your home; you greet your guest with a smile when they arrive and say goodbye to them when they leave.
Keeping the schedule on time, getting accurate and complete information, assisting with further appointments or scheduling procedures, processing the paperwork and billing accurately are all necessary components of good customer service. Those are the areas we spend a lot of time perfecting, but I have found that the wayI treat my patients from the first time we meet until they walk out the door will impact their willingness to return or recommend my clinic to others far more than keeping my schedule on time.
Customer service has become a major focus in the business world. I like to call it treating your patients and visitors with courtesy and respect. Next month I will discuss ways we have tried to keep the work environment inviting for our employees.