So this is the busy season for institutions of higher learning. We are gearing up for the start of a new academic year and all that that entails. In Student Financial Services we are particularly busy encouraging students to complete their financial aid and pay their student accounts. Part of what makes us so busy are the phone calls and emails from our customers: students and their parents. As part of our customer service focus (in Student Financial Services) we have set a goal to return every phone call (voice mail) we receive the same business day. This is a real struggle for us most days as we usually have between 5 and 10 messages to return at the end of the day while still answering the phone when other customers call. My staff have been amazing. They are real troopers. We so far have a 99% success rate (the 1% failure rate is solely and completely my fault). We haven't yet really received any compliments from our students but I have noticed a difference in my staff. Our confidence in the level of service we are providing is increasing. It is beginning to become a matter of pride that we return all phone calls the same day. When someone calls or complains that they have tried calling but no one got back to them we know that they aren't talking about our office, we return phone calls the same day we receive them. We are building more confidence in ourselves and our ability to serve.
The moral of this post is not that all phone calls should be returned the same day (though I would strongly recommend it) but that setting customer oriented goals and then achieving them builds confidence, pride, and satisfaction in your staff which leads to even better service and results. Happy employees help make happy customers.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Do unto others...
I accompanied my wife to a doctor's appointment this afternoon. We walked in and there was a sign on the window that said "The doctor is running at least 30 minutes behind." As we sat in the waiting area I contemplated the often obscene amount of time she has to wait when she goes for an appointment (it was so bad once that I sought someone out and offered to do some customer service consulting with them for free, however, they declined). I succeeded in not getting angry this visit and tried to use the time instead to look at the issue objectively from all sides. This is what I came up with:
The doctor's office makes money by having appointments. The more appointments they can schedule in a day the more money they make. If none of the appointments run over then every appointment will be on time and no one will have to wait. If a patient is late to an appointment it causes the schedule to fall behind. Therefore, the late patient will need to pay a fee to compensate for the potentially lost profit and for inconviencing other patients. If a patient will not be able to make an appointment they will need to give the office sufficient notice to schedule a new patient to replace the lost revenue. This all makes sense to me and seems very reasonable. However, it works on the assumption that no one will be late, no appointment will go over, and nothing will go wrong.
The patient goes to the doctor so that they can receive medical care. The doctor is there as an educated and qualified consultant for the patient. The doctor is to provide a diagnosis and treatment to assist the patient. The patient is paying the doctor (a lot of money) to provide this service therefore the patient is due respect and courtesy. The patient expects to arrive on time for the appointment and to have little to no wait to see the doctor. Visits are often already stressful (for all sorts of reasons) and so the patient would like to get in and out as quickly as possible. The problem here is that the patient assumes (usually unconsciously) that they are the center of the doctor's offices' world. They forget that a doctor's office is a business and that there is a schedule to keep, other patients to be treated, and a real human (the doctor) having to jump from unique situation to unique situation several times an hour.
It is easy to see how miscommunication and frustration can quickly appear between the office and the patient. However, because at no point is the office the customer if there is an issue and someone is going to need to yield the office is going to have to do it (within reason of course). The example that came to me as I began writing this evening was what I started this post with: the sign on the window as we entered the doctor's office ("The doctor is running at least 30 minutes behind"). If the patient is expected to notify the office that they are going to be late and/or pay a fee for being late then shouldn't the doctor's office notify the patient that the doctor is running behind and will be late to the appointment? Maybe the office could give a little discount to the patient if the doctor is behind schedule? Now, I understand that there could be logistical problems to this but it is merely a suggestion. Obviously each office would need to evaluate what it could do for its customers. But let me assure you that if your doctor's office called you to tell you that they were running 30 minutes behind and would give you a discount on your bill (maybe waive half the co-pay?) you would be surprised and pleased that they were that considerate. And from the doctor's office side, I guarantee that your clerk's and secretary's will be doing everything they can to make sure that the doctor is on time to his/her appointments.
Just some food for thought. Enjoy!
The doctor's office makes money by having appointments. The more appointments they can schedule in a day the more money they make. If none of the appointments run over then every appointment will be on time and no one will have to wait. If a patient is late to an appointment it causes the schedule to fall behind. Therefore, the late patient will need to pay a fee to compensate for the potentially lost profit and for inconviencing other patients. If a patient will not be able to make an appointment they will need to give the office sufficient notice to schedule a new patient to replace the lost revenue. This all makes sense to me and seems very reasonable. However, it works on the assumption that no one will be late, no appointment will go over, and nothing will go wrong.
The patient goes to the doctor so that they can receive medical care. The doctor is there as an educated and qualified consultant for the patient. The doctor is to provide a diagnosis and treatment to assist the patient. The patient is paying the doctor (a lot of money) to provide this service therefore the patient is due respect and courtesy. The patient expects to arrive on time for the appointment and to have little to no wait to see the doctor. Visits are often already stressful (for all sorts of reasons) and so the patient would like to get in and out as quickly as possible. The problem here is that the patient assumes (usually unconsciously) that they are the center of the doctor's offices' world. They forget that a doctor's office is a business and that there is a schedule to keep, other patients to be treated, and a real human (the doctor) having to jump from unique situation to unique situation several times an hour.
It is easy to see how miscommunication and frustration can quickly appear between the office and the patient. However, because at no point is the office the customer if there is an issue and someone is going to need to yield the office is going to have to do it (within reason of course). The example that came to me as I began writing this evening was what I started this post with: the sign on the window as we entered the doctor's office ("The doctor is running at least 30 minutes behind"). If the patient is expected to notify the office that they are going to be late and/or pay a fee for being late then shouldn't the doctor's office notify the patient that the doctor is running behind and will be late to the appointment? Maybe the office could give a little discount to the patient if the doctor is behind schedule? Now, I understand that there could be logistical problems to this but it is merely a suggestion. Obviously each office would need to evaluate what it could do for its customers. But let me assure you that if your doctor's office called you to tell you that they were running 30 minutes behind and would give you a discount on your bill (maybe waive half the co-pay?) you would be surprised and pleased that they were that considerate. And from the doctor's office side, I guarantee that your clerk's and secretary's will be doing everything they can to make sure that the doctor is on time to his/her appointments.
Just some food for thought. Enjoy!
Friday, June 4, 2010
United States Postal Service
Yesterday as I was walking home for lunch I was talking to my wife on the telephone. Suddenly she tells me to hold on for a second. In the background I hear her open the front door and begin talking to a man. As our house came into view I saw the mail man standing at our door waiting for my wife to return. She returned, handed him something, and then he walked down our front walk back to his mail car. I met him at our front gate and we chatted for a minute or two about what a beautiful day it was, some of the trees on our property, etc. Then we wished each other a wonderful afternoon and parted ways. I walked in the house to ask my wife why the mail man came to the door but didn't have any mail to deliver. She responded by telling me that a letter we had mailed the day before (to the IRS) didn't have enough postage and that our mail man had stopped by and asked for 17 cents to complete the postage. He didn't have to do that. He could have just slapped one of those "insufficient postage" stickers on it and brought it back leaving it in our mailbox for us to discover later. But he didn't. He took the time to come to our door, explain the issue, suggest a possible resolution (to which we agreed), and then exchanged pleasantries with me. I was blown away at the wonderful service this gentleman provides to my family and me. He is definately getting a Christmas card again this year. Such a simple thing made us feel special and cared for. He gets today's gold star for service.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Small and Simple Things, Round Two
This last weekend my wife and I went to a new restaurant with our kids and my wife's sister's family. The restaurant is called Macado's and they thought that we would like it because it is a sandwich joint and my favorite food is sandwiches. We had a great time. The food was delicious, the atmosphere enjoyable, and the company pleasant. These were all things I expected and had they been the only things I would have been satisfied and probably returned in the future. However, the thing that ensured that I would return was a simple gesture of kindness performed by our waitress for our oldest son. There was a group on the other side of the room from where we were having a small birthday party. The waitress had given the children helium balloons (I didn't even notice, my wife did). As she walked by where we were seated she stopped and gave a balloon to our son. He was ecstatic! (we still have the balloon in our dining room tied to a chair. Even though it has lost the helium he won't let us throw it away). We thanked her and as she walked away my wife looked at me and said "I feel a blog post coming on." She was right. It is the small and simple things that build customer loyalty. It is the small and simple things that make people feel good, tell their friends, and keep coming again and again.
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