My wife was recently admitted to the hospital. I am very happy to say that we have her home after a week’s stay, and she is starting to get back to normal. How does this relate to customer service? I’ll explain.
My experience with the health care system stems from my father’s numerous trips to the hospital. He developed a stage 4 brain tumor, and fought it valiantly for one year. His first trip to the hospital was very stressful, as he had a tumor of undetermined malignancy and type in his brain. It was the size of a golf ball and the pressure on his brain was starting to affect his faculties. We had to make life changing decisions on imperfect information, as the treatment options vary with the type of tumor. We asked the surgeon to come in to discuss options. I recall his words very vividly, “Mr. Harrison, although we aren’t sure until we get in there, I will tell you that I believe you have a malignant tumor, of the most aggressive grade, and it will kill you in 6-9 months, even if you remove it.”
You can imagine that I wasn’t very happy with his bedside manner. To further my disdain for the healthcare system, I was told that during his hospital stay in the cancer ward, a nurse would sneak cigarettes to him at night, and showed him where to smoke them in the hospital so as not to get caught.
Flash forward to last Saturday. My wife had to be admitted to the hospital. She stayed for a week, during which all of the doctors and nurses provided hopeful messages. “We aren’t sure what is making you sick right now, but we are going to figure it out, and put together a treatment plan.”
Yesterday in the mail, we received a card, signed by the nurses that treated her at the hospital, expressing their well wishes on a speedy recovery. Today, my wife received a phone call from the nurse. She asked how my wife was feeling, how her stay was, and if there was anything that she didn’t like. My wife had a huge smile afterwards, knowing that the nurses really cared about her.
Surprisingly, my father and my wife both went to the same hospital. Their experiences couldn’t have been more different.
My wife’s experience reflects 2 key components to legendary customer service. One, there needs to be a true desire from the employee to provide legendary customer service. Two, there needs to be a mechanism in place to allow the employee to provide legendary customer service.
Let me provide a second example from the hospital stay. After 5 days of not being allowed to eat “real” food, my wife was given the ok to have a meal at the hospital. She wanted a steak, and I went to a local restaurant to fill her order. I told the waiter the situation, and asked for his help, as the steakhouse usually doesn’t provide takeout. He provided me with the meal, and included silverware, a real steak knife and a linen napkin. He wished me well, and said “I am happy to hear that your wife is doing better! This is a special meal for her, and deserves a proper attention to detail.” This act of customer service will result not only in repeat business, but I will be one of their best salesmen as I recant this story. (BTW, you should visit The Capital Grille!)
What stories can you share about legendary customer service that you have experienced?
