About Good Customer Service for Hospitals
Hospitals have the challenging task of managing patient crises while still being sure to provide good customer service to patients and their families and visitors. Therefore, hospitals must work hard to ensure that they are making patients' and visitors' experiences as pleasant as can possibly be.
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Being Patient with Patients
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As basic as it may sound, being patient with patients and their families can make a difference in the type of experience they have at the hospital. The hospital can be a chaotic, rushed place, and customers are most likely full of worry, angst and concern. As such, when hospital personnel are patient, calm and willing to take the time to address a patient's concerns, this can have a positive impact on the patient's overall customer service experience.
Say Please and Thank You
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Being polite can go a long way. According to Ravenwerks.com, practicing the fundamental polite etiquette that was taught to you in charm school has a very positive impact on those around you. In a hospital setting, good customer service can be achieved by remembering to say "please" and "thank you" to patients and their families. After all, they are the customers and can choose to take their business elsewhere if they feel like staff are rude to them.
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Being Accessible and Available
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People who visit or stay at a hospital may have a lot of questions about the treatment that is being received, the tests that are being done and the medications that are being prescribed. As such, it is good customer service to make sure hospital personnel are accessible and available to help answer questions that customers may have, or point them in a direction for further assistance. By being accessible and available, patients and visitors at the hospital may feel less panic and calmer with regards to their concerns.
Timeliness
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Part of being professional includes practicing and exhibiting good time management skills. In hospitals, it is important that things happen timely. If procedures are scheduled for a certain time, but are delayed, this is an example of poor professionalism, which can lead to a negative customer service experience. According to the 2009-2011 Customer Service Action Plan by the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, timeliness is associated in the customer service realm as an indicator of courtesy. As such, timeliness is something that customers value and deem important in the services they receive.
Complaints and Grievances
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Having a system and policy in place for patients and visitors to file complaints or grievances about the delivery of their care at the hospital is actually good customer service. Although hospitals strive to provide positive experiences at the hospital, customers who do not have a positive experience can feel better about the fact that they have a right to vocalize what their experiences were like. The Customer Service Action Plan by the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government argues that it is important to maintain a well-publicized, accessible, transparent and simple-to-use system for dealing with complaints about the quality of services provided.
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References
- Photo Credit customer service image by Kurhan from Fotolia.com
