Service Excellence at

Definition of Customer Service

It is the act of taking care of the customer’s needs by providing and delivering professional, helpful, high-quality service and assistance before, during and after the customer’s needs have been met.

Simply stated, customer service is meeting the needs and desires of any customer.

Some characteristics include:

Promptness – Set realistic expectations for when a customer can expect requests to be completed etc.
Politeness – Saying “hello,” “good afternoon,” and “thank you” are a part of good customer service. Using good manners is appropriate whether the customer makes an appointment/purchase or not.
Professionalism/Expertise – All customers should be treated professionally, which means the use of competence or skills expected of the professional. Professionalism shows the customer they are cared for.
Personalization – Using the customer’s name is very effective in producing loyalty. Customers like the idea that whom they do business with knows them on a personal level.

Definition of Service Excellence

It is the ability of the provider to consistently meet and manage patient expectations.

4 fundamentals include:

Commitment – If one is committed to quality the rest can be taught. Committed people tend to value the service they provide, and that creates synergy. A dedication to commitment will motivate someone to try harder to please, to satisfy and to succeed. A commitment to quality is not only a competitive advantage, it’s the backbone of service excellence.
Positive Attitude – Positivity is contagious and that’s a good thing in service. Positive attitudes tend to energize each other. People with this attribute typically view challenges as opportunities. They are more likely to produce under pressure and strive to achieve goals. It takes people with a positive attitude to provide excellent service.
Passion – When people love what they do, it shows. They tend to be more committed to their work and their colleagues. Passion encourages productivity. People who are passionate about their work typically have a drive to succeed. Their drive is not necessarily success oriented, but they are so passionate about their work that nothing less than the best will do.
Balance – An equilibrium of confidence, commitment, and courtesy must exist. Without balance there is a danger of regression. Someone must be confident in their abilities and committed to the cause, yet everything must be tempered with a large amount of courtesy.

These attributes are all paramount to service excellence. Service without excellence is shallow. It leaves people feeling empty and unsatisfied.

Why service excellence matters in healthcare

Those people who receive healthcare services are customers. Patients are consumers who now have a choice about where to go for care, because of this, care providers are now responsible for attracting customers, and offering consistent levels of care. More training and investment in customer service delivery will be required with a keen focus on standards to prove their abilities to grow and develop.

It should be noted it is not just about making and keeping patients happy, that misses the point completely. Patient experience is also about the organizations culture, about the delivery of care, service process and outcomes.

Key Takeaways for Service Excellence and Patient Experience:

Clear communication
Clear recommendations
Set proper expectations
Positivity

FINAL TOUGHT:

Remember - Needing healthcare services is stressful enough without that stress being compounded by bad interactions with people or an organization. Often patients call hopeless and many of them find hope at the end of a call or evaluation. You are giving them the opportunity to regain their ability and live a more fulfilled life:

Play with their grandkids
Dance with friends that support them through the loss of their significant others
Lose weight that was causing other very serious health risks
Simply, walk with ease – which doesn’t sound like much until you are unable to do it

“Only a life lives for others is a life worthwhile.” Albert Einstein

Communications

Building Blocks

We are a medical clinic, but we are also a clinic that sells goods and services to our patients. A significant percentage of our patients are choosing to buy services, equipment and supplements that are not covered by their health insurance companies.

We all understand how discussing money with patients can be awkward. In an effort to avoid these situations, we have created an atmosphere where the clinical team is not required to discuss money, only medical recommendations and treatments. The providers & leadership teams are better equipped to discuss the costs with patients and outline payment arrangements.

The interactions we have with our patients are dependent on persuasive and believable information exchange. Great communication is not just simply what is conveyed, but how info is shared and the body language that is used. I believe that if we were to focus and elevate our communications skills, this would improve retention, conversion and patient experience.

1. Listen – When meeting with a patient, remember there are two parties and communication should go both ways. Even if a patient is reluctant to talk, ask questions or encourage general feedback.

Listening can help you perceive:

Answers that give insight into the prospects needs, values, motivations or budget
Changes in the prospects tone or mood
Buzz words that signal resistance or openness to closing
Excitement or hostility toward the company or employee

2. Focus on Solutions – We train employees to be customer-centric. However, that doesn’t mean all aspect of the customer’s life. Center your dialogue around the most important customer focus: solutions.

Find out what is not working well, what is missing or what deficiencies need improving; then show how products, services or special options from us can address these matters. If we want our conversion and retention to improve then we need to understand why our services and products are the best solution for the patient’s problem. Your communication should be full of expert advice, should enhance the physician’s recommendations and focus on resolutions so that the patient will think of you as a problem solver.

3. Read Body Language – Interpreting a patient’s interest or disinterest is incredibly important. It will allow for you to easily determine interest or even disappointment. These are cues that can save both you and the patient time.

4. Match Patients Tone (Mimicry) – Linguistic mirroring has long helped professionals in any field where persuasion is necessary. This can create trust, agreement and an atmosphere of ease.

Common-Sense Basics:

If the patient is laid back and relaxed when speaking, don’t be overly formal, manic or uptight
If the patient is super upbeat and humorous, don’t be droll and no-nonsense
If the patient is very sophisticated, you will want to be your most polished
If the patient is stoic and all-business, you will want to be serious, too

Clashes in tone can ruin patient interactions very quickly. They may not be able to identify the reason but they will feel disconnected.

5. Greet and Depart Properly – Always be warm, inviting and sincere with the patient, greeting and leaving them in the same way…no matter the interaction.

People remember a first impression and the last thing you say to them. Regardless of their recommendations or decisions, treat them the same way we did when they walked through our front doors.

We spend a great deal of time during the on-boarding process to create experts in our treatments. We believe that by educating our employees we will create confidence that benefits the patient in all aspects of their interactions with our clinic. We want you to believe in the company you work for and the treatments we are offering.

Making Small Talk - Actually talking, not just filling time

If you feel anxious about making small talk, remind yourself that your nervousness is coming from you and your beliefs, not the situation. Ask yourself: what’s the worst that can happen? If the small talk fails and the other person doesn’t like me, so what? Also, just because small talk was awkward in the past doesn’t mean it will be that way again.

1. Focus on the other person and less on yourself. This will help you feel less self-conscious, and make the other person feel important.

2. Do listen. Control internal and external distractions. Be present; watch the tendency to daydream. Truly listening to another person is the highest compliment you can pay them.

3. Always close a conversation before walking away from the other person by using a graceful exit line; don’t simply melt from conversations. “It’s been great talking with you. I really enjoyed hearing about…”

Have approachable body language. If you want to make a person feel comfortable, the best thing to do is to have an "open stance" and to direct your body toward that person without being too forceful. Just make eye contact, don't cross your arms, and face your shoulders toward that person. This will make the person feel like you're giving him all your attention and that you're not just lukewarm about talking to him. Maintain the right distance from the person.

Keep things light and positive. Conversations are just as much about an exchange of energy as an exchange of information. To make great conversation and great small talk, you should keep things light, fun, and positive. If you're upbeat, ready to smile at a moment's notice, and laugh over things that aren't that funny, then you'll make the other person want to keep talking to you -- even if you're only talking about your favorite brands of cereal.

It's true: it may be hard to keep things light and fun when you've had a really bad day or bad week. But remember that if you're making small talk, then this person is not your closest friend, so you should avoid talking about anything too negative or the other person will be turned off.

Start with a small compliment. Just a simple, "I love your shoes -- where did you get them?" can get you into a fun conversation about shoe shopping. Even if the compliment doesn't lead anywhere, it will still make the person feel more appreciated before you start discussing other subjects. You can also use this move earlier, to actually introduce yourself to someone.

Find common ground. Common ground doesn't mean that you and the other person are both die-hard horseback riders. It can just be as the fact that you've both had to deal with a lot of bad weather that week. Anything that the person can relate to and that establishes a connection, however tenuous, can be considered common ground. And just because you don't want to talk about the weather, remember that the "small stuff" can lead you to talk about the things that matter to you. Here are some ways to establish common ground:

Question/Topic Suggestions:

Work

How did you become a [job title]?
What surprised you the most about your current job?
What’s the craziest thing a boss has ever asked you to do?
If you were guaranteed to be successful, what job would you want?
What was your first job? Did you like it?
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received? How about the worst?

Entertainment

Are you reading any good books right now? I’d love some recommendations. How about shows?
Are there any apps on your phone that you can’t live without?
Do you have any podcast suggestions for my commute?
What’s the last movie that made you cry? Or laugh aloud?
Whom would you want to be your Amazing Race partner?

Travel

What’s the best “hidden gem” around here?
If you could fly anywhere for free, where would you go?
What’s the coolest road trip you’ve ever been on?
Where’s the last place you traveled? What did you do there?
What’s the next trip you have planned?

PDEC Top Differentiators

1. We offer a 20% discount to ALL cash pay/self-pay patients. Additionally, we offer payment plan options to fit the needs of our patients.

2. Diagnostic US -- every PDEC medical doctor is trained and certified in the diagnostic US.

3. Radiofrequency Ablation for Thyroid Nodules-- Radiofrequency ablation is an exciting minimally invasive treatment for unwanted thyroid nodules that can make conventional management with surgery and radioactive iodine (RAI) unnecessary! The RFA procedure can be safely performed in a simple outpatient visit and can destroy thyroid nodules without leaving a scar on your neck. The treatment is a quick, non-surgical outpatient option that enables patients to resume normal daily activities almost immediately after.

4. Procedural Excellence -- PDEC medical doctors have performed 1000s of fine needle aspirations and have an exceptional safety record. We also pride ourselves on making the biopsies as painless as possible.

5. Customer Service -- The PDEC staff goes above and beyond in trying to help patients have the best experience possible. Examples include pre-authorization, financial transparency, and a staff which is attentive to making our patients feel comfortable and treats them like family.