How many new patients have you lost because of poor customer service?
By Linsey Grams
The other day, I did a business a favor. I complained. I know criticism doesn’t sound like a favor, but it most certainly is. Most disappointed customers move onto the next business without giving that first business a chance to improve.
This particular instance involved a sensitive pregnant woman (me) and a rude receptionist at an OBGYN/midwifery clinic. This is my first child, so I am excited, nervous and just plain thirsty for information and guidance. When I called to make an appointment with a midwife, the receptionist managed to squash my excitement, discount my nerves and disregard my craving for information. I could tell she was bored out of her mind upon answering my call and her tone made me feel like I had imposed by trying to get into their practice. She managed to make me feel stupid for asking insurance and payment questions. She also yelled a couple of the answers to my questions.
I didn’t end up penciling in an appointment at that practice. What if her attitude was part of a larger problem? I definitely did not want to endure that type of interaction every time I needed to see my healthcare professional.
This rude receptionist behavior is more pervasive than you think. And there are a couple of lessons to be learned:
- You have to live up to your marketing. If you’re website or commercials say you care about your patients, everyone at the practice needs to act like it. You spend money and time trying to get new patients to your practice. Marketing and word-of-mouth referrals get these potential customers to your doorstep; now it’s your job to live up to the standard you have set.
- The problem cannot be exposed without report. Maybe you are lucky enough to get a customer complaint, or, maybe you hire medical mystery shoppers to more thoroughly sift through any potential problem areas. The Beryl Institute emphasized the importance of mystery shopping to uncover problems at initial contact, as this group of possible patients can’t be represented in patient satisfaction surveys. Administrators and employees can listen to the shopper’s recorded phone calls and see how they rated the interaction in the survey.
- Your loss is a competitor’s gain. People need healthcare, and if they aren’t contributing to your business, they’re somewhere else. That’s a double loss that could easily be prevented.
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