I had an interesting revelation recently that I wanted to share. In my consulting work, I am frequently asked to help clients understand the patient experience behind the HCAHPS scores. One area that many organizations struggle with is cleanliness. When the cleanliness score goes down, all eyes are on housekeeping, right? Conventional wisdom suggests that, if the scores are bad, it must mean an environmental service is doing a poor job. Well, before you start harping on the housekeeping crew, you might want to take a closer look around and make sure you understand how the patient defines cleanliness. Next, you’ll want to examine some habits that are giving you a bad rap. Read more...
Every so often, I run into a service star that knocks my socks off and I just have to share. This week it was Kelly, a bright and bubbly waitress who served this bleary-eyed traveler her 6:00 a.m. coffee. I was impressed with her energy because I don’t often see much enthusiasm at that time of day. But Kelly was equally personable and attentive when she waited on our table at noon. She even offered to bring me some honey, remembering that I had a cold and had requested it in the morning. But what really impressed me was when, at 8:30 p.m., my room service arrived and was delivered by–who else but–Kelly! Smiling and positive, she delivered my meal to my room, made small talk, and asked how I was feeling. After a bit of probing, I learned that she had arrived at 5:30 that morning and would work until 11:00 that night. When I commented how that was a long stretch to work, she didn’t offer any additional information about why she was working such a long day. Did staff call in sick? Was she training for a food service marathon? Was this some weird waitress initiation or hazing? All she offered was, “I really enjoy my work. I meet so many interesting guests.” Read more...
