You Can’t Serve a Happy Meal with a Frown
How does an organization with roughly 760,000 employees worldwide maintain positive customer service scores? With an 8 point increase in customer service ratings in 2011 (American Customer Service Index), McDonald’s has built an admirable organization with strong customer service values. Excellent customer service skills are not naturally occurring in most humans, but with proper training and coaching, these skill sets can evolve and become... Read More
Greater Means of Communication Could Lead to Higher Risks
Communication is, without a doubt, the basis of Social Media. Unfortunately, for the millions of businesses around the world operating Facebook Fan Pages, we are unable to directly communicate with our fans without the entire Facebook community viewing our message. As many of you are aware, Facebook removed the direct message feature from Fan Pages; due to an influx in misconduct from spamming agencies. Without this feature, Page Administrators... Read More
Customer Service: Does your practice provide a wholesale experience or a boutique experience?
Wholesalers are known for one thing: providing a lot of product at relatively inexpensive prices. Though highly efficient, wholesale chains are not exactly known for being personable. After all, wholesalers are generally no-frills, do-it-yourself outfits that specialize in not specializing. Make no mistake, wholesalers are brilliant in this niche; but do you want to be regarded as a no-frills, non-specializing practice? Or would you rather... Read More
The Patient Experience Drives Referral Volumes: So Why Aren’t Patients #1?
A recent study published by the Healthcare Leaders Media Intelligence Unit reports that 79% of healthcare leaders agree that patient experiences directly impact the bottom line, while 20% somewhat agree with that statement. While 93% of leaders say improving the patient experience is on their top priority list, most leaders say their biggest challenge in actually affecting a change in their organization is that “higher priorities” distract... Read More
Patient Experience: Is Your Dog Being Treated Better Than You Are?
I stumbled upon a comical YouTube video today about a man and his dog that were taking a run through the woods and over the course of the run they were both injured. The video continues with a visit to vet and a visit to the doctor and believe it or not, the dog has a much more positive experience! The dog is excitedly greeted by the receptionist who already knows him by name; he waits for a few minutes, receives compassionate care, and gets lots... Read More
We Really Appreciate Your Business!
As I walked through the aisles of my local office supply store (a national chain store) bright and early on Monday morning, I was in a hurry and needed a few quick items to be on my way. Truthfully, I dread going to the office supply store; I rarely can find what I need without having to ask someone and I always walk out spending much more than I had originally intended. Needless to say, I was not in the best of moods that morning. While I had been... Read More
Perception is Reality-Whether Right or Wrong
“Perception is reality-whether right or wrong.” A trusted colleague of mine spoke these words today in a presentation to an organization of physician recruitment professionals and he could not be more right on. When working to provide your patients with the utmost care and concern for their health, it becomes imperative to understand how they perceive their experiences in your office. You may be confident you’re providing them with... Read More
Medical Mystery Shopping: Everyone Loves a Good Story
Over the long holiday weekend, I went to the movie theater to watch “The Blind Side” with Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw. It’s the story of NFL player Michael Oher and how he rose to athletic greatness; very inspiring, motivating, a reminder to love others and be thankful kind of movie. In my mind and those that were leaving the theater that night, a must see for everyone. I loved the story so much that I found myself sharing... Read More
Medical Mystery Shopping: Continual Monitoring of the Patient Experience
While listening to a webinar this morning, the presenter discussed several reasons why patient satisfaction initiatives fail in the hospital and practice settings. One of the key mistakes many healthcare organizations make is that they fail to consistently monitor their patient satisfaction across the months and the year. Many times, a hospital, health system or practice can have the best intentions and start off on the right foot, evaluating... Read More
Sometimes a Bad Patient Experience is a Great Thing!
Sometimes despite our best efforts to treat our patients to the best experience possible, something goes wrong! The reaction from the patient can run the gamut from mildly annoyed to downright angry, but one thing is certain; it’s not much fun to deal with. Practice Managers need to realize that it is at this critical moment that a patient’s loyalty can be cemented for life. Recent studies highlighted in the book, Human Sigma actually... Read More
