1. Creating a best in class customer experience

2. This is the basis for all we do…
Institutional Values
S cientific, educational, and patient care excellence
U nity in pursuit of our mission
C reativity
C ompassion for our patients and their families
E mployees, volunteers, & faculty are our most prized
resources
S tewardship
S ocial responsibility and ethics of the highest standard

3. Healthcare has come a long way…
THEN
Institutional-
• All types of
health care
delivered in one
building
• Limited choice

5. NOW
State-of-the-art Medical Centers-
• Specialized Centers of Excellence
• Research; Education
• Easy access; close-in parking; comfortable environments

6. Private rooms-
• natural light
• amenities for
families & visitors
• comfortable
environment
• we bring the
treatment and
technology to the
patient

7. Customer expectations are also
ever evolving
Patients are not as patient as they used to be.
 Patients live in a world where Droids and iPhones, laptops
and iPads, can connect them – instantly! – to vetted advice
from the Mayo Clinic.
 Patients don’t expect lab results to take three days. Nothing
takes three days anymore.
 Patients expect to be a part of their healthcare plan

8. Benchmarking our customer service
 Against our own past results
 Against our nearby health care competitors
SETTING THE BAR TOO LOW!
Customers do not stop being consumers just because
they are receiving health care.
We should try to learn from industries who have been
focusing on customer service for decades
 Retail
 Hospitality
 Entertainment

9. Learn from the experts

10. Our customers…
How do patients feel? What do they need?
 Scared
 Frustrated
 Confused
 Vulnerable
 Tired
 Alone
 Compassion
 Attention
 Understanding
 Information
 Reassurance
 Relief

11. Collage
Perception of Current Environment
ANXIOUS

12. Collage
Desirable Environment
Teamwork
Relaxing & Comfortable

13. Hire for fit
 Look for people with qualities that are
aligned with our commitment to customer
service and patient satisfaction.
 Use behavioral based questions and have
specific characteristics to look for, and only
hire people who have 'it'.

14. Customer Service Training
 Specific, customer-focused processes
 Provide training to all employees to help
develop their skills
 Build employee commitment, loyalty,
camaraderie and pride in their work
 Reward & Recognize when individuals,
and/or teams excel

15. Leadership Development
Coaching for Service Excellence:
 Weaving customer service practices into the fabric
of an organization requires on-the-spot coaching
between supervisors and their team members.
 Are our leaders equipped to deal with performance issues?
 Do they understand how coaching is linked to service
improvement?
 Are they committed to leading the initiative and making it
work?

16. Specific, customer-focused process
'AIDET':
Acknowledge the patient quickly and courteously,
Introduce yourself with your name & title,
Duration -- tell the patient how long he or she can
expect the visit/treatment to take,
Explain simply yet completely what to expect,
what the outcome might be, etc., and
Thank the patient for choosing our services.

17. In health care, the patients’ experiences
revolves around some critical deliverables,
including:
 Showing compassion, e.g., caring about, not just care for
 Providing a safe, welcoming and comfortable environment
 Building trust
 Engaging the patient in the treatment plan and throughout
the process
 Respecting the patient’s time (waiting times; scheduling
process; registration; service recovery empowerment)
 Providing value-added services (patient liaisons; guest
relations; concierge type services)

18. Building Trust
Every encounter with our customers should build
trust in our organization.
• Employees sometimes make certain comments like
 “Sorry, we are understaffed today”, or
 “Sorry, we just got this new system and we are struggling”, or
 “l’ll see what I can do.”, or
 “It has been a long day”, or
 Simply don’t engage the patient with the right words and actions at the
right times.
We need to arm our staff with the “always words” and teach them
how to:
• Engage the patient in the treatment plan and throughout the process
• Earn trust and build credibility and we ultimately build customer loyalty

19. Service Recovery
Everyone needs to learn how to apologize.
 Listen carefully and let them finish
 The Blameless Apology — Don't blame another person or
department. Simply say, "I'm sorry about that.”
 Become a partner with the customer in solving the problem.
 Solve the problem, or find someone who can solve it—
 Research indicates that customers prefer the person they are
speaking with to instantly solve their problem. When
complaints are moved up the chain of command, they become
more expensive to handle and only add to the customer's
frustration.

20. E
 Every Customer
 Every Encounter
 Every Day
3
Our Customer Service Promise

21. Courage:
 To challenge the status quo
 To be a strong patient advocate
Brains:
 Implement evidenced based process improvements
 Continually learn & grow
 Challenge ourselves to find a better way to provide
patient care
Heart:
 We must have compassion & empathy and it must
be in the deepest, most human way.
What it takes- to create a best in class
customer experience in healthcare
Kristin Baird, RN