Last month, I undertook what for millions of consumers is a simple, routine purchase -- buying new eyeglasses. Little did I realize that the experience would prove that CEOs who set policy are often completely out of sync with those on the front line of customer service. Although CEOs of major companies rate customer service as the most critical factor to remaining competitive in the 1990s, those who deal with customers on a daily basis are never trained in the fine art of translating platitudes into performance.
Like a lamb to slaughter, off I trotted to a local department store recommended by my health plan. After trying a few styles, I ordered a pair I thought would work.
Once home, buyer's remorse set in. Concerned the frames might prove too heavy once the lenses were fitted, I phoned to cancel my order as soon as the store opened the following day.
"I'm sorry, but that order has already been processed via computer," the manager of the optical department told me. In other words, I was stuck.
Despite the "miracle" of electronic computer processing, delivery took more than a week. When the glasses finally arrived, my gut instinct was validated: The heavy glasses gave me a headache. What had begun as a simple exercise in consumer spending was about to become a major customer satisfaction headache.
Because I lead seminars and write articles about customer service, I decided to view this experience as a test case. Did the company back up their pledge of customer satisfaction with something more than lip service?
After a letter (never answered) to the store's general manager, followed by a campaign of phone calls, I became convinced that complaint resolution was not the GM's top priority. I began climbing the corporate ladder.
When I phoned corporate headquarters, the regional manager wasn't in, but his secretary was. Because she appeared genuinely interested, I outlined the saga. When the telling was done, she assured me that corporate did not consider such behavior satisfactory, and that she would have my refund processed that afternoon.
She did.
Moral of the story -- excellent customer service means never saying "It's not my job!" Clearly, the organization's top manager recognized his secretary's smarts and had empowered her to act on her instincts on behalf of the company. She did and gave top management a good name.
Although 99 percent of people never complain directly about a service, a dissatisfied patient whose expectations have not been met will complain to as many as 10 to 20 others. And the doctor will never be the wiser until patients stop coming in the door.
Staff courtesy is the most important reason patients select the health care practices on which they depend for their health care.
So many practices give lip service to delivering quality customer service -- the buzz phrase of the '90s. Yet someone, no doubt the doctor, never provides the staff with the necessary training to transform aspirations into actions.
How to please patients isn't a secret. Here are seven simple rules that will convince patients you care and make them stay with your practice forever.
Sheila Sobell
San Diego, California
When I graduated from chiropractic college in 1981 and started practice, I heard it all, and very little was positive. “You are a quack; you do not know what a subluxation is; you couldn’t get into a real health care program, so you chose the one that is slightly above a mail-order degree; you have no proof that chiropractic works; Are you really licensed?”, and so much more.
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A central challenge in creating our identity is that chiropractic is a method of care, not a technique or procedure. This is an important concept for us to promote. Our patients are treated with lifestyle modification, exercise, nutritional supplements, diet and a whole-body approach to accelerate the natural healing process. We are not simply CMT providers.
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