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!

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.

Lowe's

Yesterday I took a friend to Lowe's so that he could get a bolt for his car.  He and I aren't particularly familiar with the layout of the store as we rarely frequent there.  As we walked in we looked around a little lost looking for the bolt section.  We began to search.  Within one minute of being in the store an employee approached us and asked if he could help us find something.  My friend took the lead as he knew what he was looking for and began to work with this employee.  I hung back looking at all of the gizmos and taking in the situation.  I noticed after another minute or so that this employee was the service manager and that he had been on his way to do something when he stopped to help us.  He helped my friend find the correct bolt and then admitted that he knew very little about cars but one of his employees knew quite a bit and began to look for him.  During the sixty second search for this other employee twice he was asked for help/instructions by other employees.  Each time he informed them he was with a customer and would come back when he was finished.  After finding the car savvy employee it appeared that the service manager stayed for another minute or so to make sure that my friend was comfortable with this other employee and that his needs were going to be met.  Then he wished him luck and assured him once again that he was in capable hands before he departed.  He then hurried away.  The second employee, the car savvy one, stayed with us for another five or six minutes walking my friend through every scenario he could think of (everything that might go wrong with the automotive repair my friend was about to attempt) explaining how he could handle it and what the appropriate tools might be.  He did all of this in a very gentle manner, not pushy in the least.  We ended up leaving the store with a few ideas and a purchase or two but most importantly we left feeling we were important and my friend with confidence in the endeavor on which he was about to embark.

What a wonderful example of service at its best.  A busy, "important" employee took time to help a confused looking customer.  Another employee did the best he could to explain what might solve the customer's dilemma and went above and beyond what is required of the job.  We were in and out in less than 15 minutes.  What a brief period in which to make such an excellent impression on the customer.  Most customer service opportunities are similar.  The employee/business has just a few minutes to make whatever impression it can.  But, by following the cardinal rule of customer service, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, each of your customer's experiences can be the same as ours was at Lowe's last night.  It's common sense (which, in the end, equates to cents).

An hour and a half drive...one way

My wife and I are in the final steps of purchasing our first home.  The lender with whom we are working to secure a mortgage required us to participate in and complete a first-time homebuyers education class prior to closing on our home.  We were provided with a list of 5 or 6 different organizations that offer these classes located within reasonable distance to our home (about an hour away).  My wife attempted to contact all of them using the information our lender provided us and all of the email addresses were wrong and a majority of the phone numbers (first no-no, don't provide your customer with incorrect information...it makes you look stupid).  When she did finally get a hold of someone they were rude, abrubt, and in one case, exceptionally insulting.  She got off of the phone with the latter with tears in her eyes for how she had been treated (this of course irritated me to say the least.  I actually called and requested contact information for her supervisor).  There was only one organization on the list that returned her calls in any semblance of timeliness and treated her with respect, or as she put it, like a person.  Guess where we went to take the class?  Yep, the place where they were rude.  We felt like we needed to be abused that day.  Just kidding, of course we went to the place where they were respectful, even though it was an hour and a half away (40 minutes further than any of the other places that we could have gone).  Going to that organization, STEP, Inc in Rocky Mount, VA, took us an extra hour and a half of driving on a precious Saturday but we went because they treated us like people.  How difficult is it to show some respect (the golden rule)?  And guess who will be receiving the government allocation of funding for our attendance at this state sponsored class.  Yep, STEP, Inc.

The Dentist's Office

This last week I went to the dentist to have a tooth filled (a previous filling had fallen out).  As I walked in and up to the counter I waited for the woman behind the counter to acknowledge me.  It took her about 10 seconds to look up and smile at me.  Without waiting I said "I'm here for an appointment." (this should have been obvious but I was nervous).  She continued smiling and said "Go ahead and have a seat.  The doctor will be right with you Tyson."  I was shocked that she knew my name.  This was only my second time to the dentist and the first time was a little more than three weeks prior.  I didn't even remember seeing her the first time I was there.  I looked at her and said "Wow, you guys are good.  You already know me by name."  She kept right on smiling and said "It only takes me once or twice to remember someone."  I then sat down.  I was still shocked.  I had just experienced what I had been telling my team at work for the last five months and I relished the feeling.  I felt important, even if just for that moment.  I was in a dentist's office and I was happy to be there (until I remembered why I had come).  I felt like that office cared about me, I wasn't just another customer (patient). 

This simple experience, that took place in just a few moments, teaches a great lesson.  By learning someone's name and then calling them by it you can make them feel special, important.  These are the feeling that build customer loyalty.  And what did it cost the dentist's office?  Almost nothing.  In fact, I would be impressed if it cost more than a few pennies at most to learn my name.  Maybe the receptionist spent 1 or 2 minutes committing it to memory (at $10.00 an hour, which is a generous wage for BV, that would have cost her employer $0.16 to $0.32).  What an investment!  If I go back just one more time for a cleaning because of my experience they will have increased their revenue by over $100.  That's more than 312 times more than what it cost to learn my name.

This is common sense.  Treat people like people, not numbers or "just customers."  It's the golden rule applied to business.

Kudos to "Smiles on Magnolia" in downtown Buena Vista, VA for your excellent customer service.  Not only was my filling done professionally and the price was reasonable, you made me feel important.  My only regret as I look back is that I still don't know the receptionist's name.  But be sure that next time I go (and there will be a next time) I will learn her name too.