3 Shortcuts to Sabotage: "Ignoring Customer Service in Healthcare"

By Stewart Gandolf

We wish we had written that compelling headline because it drew us into an insightful post (that we also wish we had written). Author and business coach Micah Solomon is hitting us with a triple (facetious) dose of ways healthcare providers—particularly hospitals—can avoid service excellence.

There must be thousands of ways to fail at customer service, but for impact, he points to three experiential moments for highly effective sabotage. In our words, “make ‘em wait,” “don’t say ‘sorry” and “ignore the greetings.”

Fortunately for those circumstances where exceptional patient experience is actually an organizational goal, the meat of his article is in explaining the issue and what to do instead. And while each premise is tongue-in-cheek, his advice hits right between the eyes.

In the “make ‘em wait” example, you can, “Ignore the fact that expectations of speed [of service] have changed. OR [recognize] that patients are not as patient as they used to be [and thinking] you can get back to patients with information at the same sluggish pace you always have doesn't cut it.”

Take a couple minutes to read the entire article here, including all “three ways hospitals can avoid providing customer service.”

Things Your Administration Does That Might Drive Away Patients

Mastering Customer Service: Patients Are Not an Interruption

Healthcare Consumerism: How to Avoid Being Left Behind

Three Little Marketing Ideas -- Almost Sneaky, But Clever and Effective

Little Things Make a Big Difference: The Art of Customer Service in Hospital and Medical Marketing