Making A Great Impression With Excellent Customer Service

Since I work in the patient/customer service business I am always on the lookout for great examples of it to share with others in the office or in lectures, because I know we grow and change by learning and implementing good ideas in our workplace. I usually am on the look-out for examples of good or bad customer service anytime I am in a place of service, but today I was different. I was in a hurry as I am leaving the state for a few days and had to do the weekly deposits from the office.  I rushed to the bank and was very glad that there were only a couple of people in line so I could get in and out quickly, I just wanted to do my transactions and be on my way.

When it was my turn to step up to the window there was this nice young lady (18-23 yrs old) ready to help my every need.  I told that I had several transactions to make and began my first one with her.  As she looked down at the check I was cashing for petty cash for the office she said “So how is Dr. So-and-so doing?  Is he back from his trip to the east coast?  Wasn’t he going to visit his mother for her 91st birthday?”  I stood there with my mouth open in wonderment that she remembered these facts as I know that the doctor had not been to the bank in a couple of weeks.  I told her he was leaving tomorrow and that she had a very good memory.

She proceeded to tell me “yes he was in a couple of weeks ago and mention he would be taking this trip, he also talked about his 3 Labrador dogs and how one is very old, I think the other two are around 7-years-old.”  Again, I was shocked that she remembered the details.  She asked what I did for him and I told her I was the office manager, she then told me that she often does our night drop deposits and that it was a real pleasure to get to meet the doctor and myself in person so she now had a face to go with the deposits when she did them.

I was totally impressed by this young ladies customer service skills at such a young age, she definitely was going to go up the ladder if she continued grooming her skills.  When I finished all of my transactions she thanked me for coming in and hoped that she would see me again real soon, she used my name and then asked if I saw the doctor would I please tell him to have a nice trip from her.  Excellent! A+!  If I had an opening in my office I would have offered her a job right then and there, this is the type of service we need to be giving our patients everyday when they enter our front doors.

I usually do not like going into the bank as it is a long process to get in and out so I use the night drop 99% of the time.  After today’s experience I would be happy to go back in the branch if I could get service like that.  I went back to the office and shared with the staff about my experience with this young lady and we talked about the importance of this type of service to our patients.  People are looking for that personal touch and they should get it.  It only takes a few seconds to ask patients how they are doing and what is going in their life, then jot it down in their chart so that you have it recorded and can ask about it next time they are in.

We have experienced the pleasure it brings patients when they have told us that they are going out-of-town to visit a new grandchild and then when they come back to the office the next time we ask how was their visit and do they have a picture of their new grand baby.  I call this “people connecting” It is a vital part of patient/customer service and with out it people do not feel connected and they could be going to a doctor down the street just as easy as coming to your office.  Take the time to talk together as a team and come up with ways that you can connect with your patients better, your patients will be so surprised when you do.

Communication is not only the essence of being human, but also a vital property of life.–  John Piece

http://www.ehow.com/how_4561409_customer-service-skills-repeat-customers.html

08/13/14