I’ve said this a thousand times: trust is a fragile thing when it comes to the patient experience. I recently had some minor surgery that I’d been planning for some time. Because of my rigorous travel schedule, taking the time out for surgery is no small feat. So I had gone through all the pre-operative steps, including teaching, history, and physical, and was all set except for knowing the time of surgery. I was told that I would be contacted the day before my surgery and given the schedule. Of course, I had to have someone drive me to and from the hospital, so that meant that neither of us knew how much of our day would be required. Read more...
I think most of us would agree that it’s a good idea to do discharge follow-up calls to patients, and yet it’s the rare healthcare organization that does it consistently (and well). I’ll admit that I am a bit of an idealist when it comes to discharge follow up, but if we are really going to deliver truly patient-centered care, we need to have some ideals. Read more...
There are a few statements that make me crazy. "e;it’s not my job,"e; is one of them. A close second is in my crazy-making lineup is, "e;I don’t have time."e;
I am sitting in an airport right now watching a plane leave down the runway. A plane that I could be on. A plane that could put me home and in my own bed at 10 PM rather than 1:00 AM. But I am not on that plane in spite of the fact that there were 10 empty seats on it and I wanted to go standby and take one of those empty seats. Why am I not on that plane? Because Jody didn’t have time to help me. Jody was busy and she told me so.
I can understand that in the service business, when we are pulled in many directions, the main focus is often on the customer that is standing right in front of you. I respect that. But I cannot excuse someone who doesn’t even try to assist a customer. How often does that happen in your organization? Do you have team members who tell customers that they are too busy or that something is not their job? I hope not.
A fellow consultant and friend, Mary Malone shared a great approach to training staff on how to screen their words. She talks about words that wound, words that work and words that WOW. At the top of the list of her wounding words is, "e;It’s not my job."e; And "e;I don’t have time."e; If I had the chance to coach Jody the busy gate agent, I would help her to understand the distinction between the words that wound, work and wow. I would point out that, busy or not, she could finish her most immediate responsibilities and offer to assist me once she has boarded her other passengers. That would work or even wow me.
Ask your team members to identify common challenges and requests from patients and families. Can they distinguish words that wound, words that work , and words that wow? Practice makes perfect. Give them a chance to try out various scenarios. And once you have that down, give Jody a call. She could use some coaching.
In my business, I live, eat and breathe customer service. And yet, I really don’t think my standards are higher than most people’s. I am perhaps, just a bit more observant. Because I coach and teach health care providers and support staff about how they can improve their customers’ experiences, I’m always on the lookout for best practices as well as glitches–whether the encounter takes place at a restaurant, hotel or hospital. Then, solicited or not, I feel compelled to share my wisdom. Putting on my consultant cap, I offer what I think are great suggestions–only to be met with glazed looks or worse, the “Who-do-you-think-you-are-to-be-giving-me-advice?” smirk. More than once, my husband Mark has been beside me whispering, “They don’t care. Move on. Let’s go.” Apparently, he’s actually the more observant one because he clearly sees that my words of wisdom are being squandered on the deaf. Read more...
