Category: Public relations

How Hospitals Can Create a Customer Service Culture

Posted on by Brian Lee

INTRODUCTION

patient-pickup-signThese days, hospitals have strong incentives to improve the patient experience. One reason is that the CMS reduces Medicare payments for poor-performing hospitals. Another is that the CMS publicly releases the results of patients’ perspectives of their hospital experience in its Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey.

Need another reason? Accenture reported that hospitals with “superior” patient experiences achieved 50 percent higher net margins.

Your hospital would be best served creating a culture where customer service is every employee’s focus; otherwise, customer service traits will never be consistently or universally performed. Here are some tips.

USE DATA TO IMPROVE YOUR SERVICE

Working on improving your hospital’s patient experience is actually a form of reputation management, and one objective of reputation management is preventing a reputation crisis, such as bad ratings. One way to work on reputation management is by figuring out what areas or services to shore up.

You already have your patient satisfaction scores to use as baseline numbers. Use the data that you have to guide your direction. For example, the Cleveland Clinic discovered that low rankings in the ED were because of communication issues, not wait times.

KEEP HOSPITAL STAFF MOTIVATED AND ENGAGED

The onboarding process for new employees is an important time in which customer service must be explained. But once training is over, managers, department heads and team leaders need to keep their staff members accountable. They can drive employee engagement by aligning activities with the hospital’s larger strategic plan and organization-wide goals, according to Gallup.

Your communications department should help the hospital president or CEO to promulgate his/her strategic plan and goals and provide regular (e.g. quarterly) status or progress reports. It is hoped that accountability and seeing improvement will keep staff motivated and engaged in providing outstanding customer service.

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It doesn’t matter what United does

Posted on by Brian Lee

United_AirlinesAs I’ve been reading the mass media and PR trade journal articles on the recent United Airlines fiasco, I’ve noticed a consistent theme: people have critiqued how United and its CEO have responded–and I agree, it’s been pitiful–but what’s missing from these stories is that at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what United does.

In other words, a company like United can treat its employees and passengers however it wants, it can completely whiff in responding to crises and it can continue to offer horrible service, but subsequently, it will still remain in business. That’s because United, American, Delta and Southwest are essentially an oligopoly of U.S. air travel. Consumers have few options, and these airlines know it.

It’s no surprise that consumer complaints against the airlines increases each year. Still, airlines can make flying even worse than it already is–for example, reduce seat sizes by half, charge for water and ban carry-on bags–but as soon as they dangle a special discount on a flight, consumers always will grudgingly come back.

Think about other industries, such as cable providers and cellular providers. They, too have large amounts of complaints, but with little competition, there’s no incentive for these companies to have a customer-centric focus (despite what they say publicly).

And that’s exactly why United won’t suffer any long-term damage.

Update: April 17

The New York Times published an op-ed that mimics my points, stating “an industry that is not naturally competitive … (became) an unregulated cartel. This restored profitability, but at awful costs both to customer convenience and to economic efficiency as well.”

In Hospitality, Customer Service is Everyone’s Responsibility

Posted on by Brian Lee

hospitalityINTRODUCTION

In a survey by American Express, 7 in 10 Americans said they were willing to spend more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service. This is especially important for hotels, B&Bs and resorts. It is the responsibility of every employee–from the front desk to housekeeping–to provide a high-quality, memorable experience for each and every guest.

Following are a few keys to hospitality success.

HOW TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER SERVICE

Creating a customer-first culture starts with training. Make your hospitality standards a key part of new-employee onboarding.

Employees should learn your hotel’s mission and values. Your internal communications–for example, email, Intranet or department meetings–should regularly reinforce these points. A maintenance worker directing a guest to a pool or a bartender providing sightseeing recommendations goes a long way.

Senior staff members need to lead by example, according to HotelRED General Manager Jason Ilstrup, a past Wisconsin Hotel and Lodging Association Innkeeper of the Year whose hotel in Madison, Wis., has earned numerous Trip Advisor Certificates of Excellence.

“I’m out on the floor, working in all departments, and great customer service becomes contagious,” Ilstrup said. “I’m trying to demonstrate that we’re all on the same team and doing this together. Our mentality is that we’re here for the guests.”

BENEFITS TO GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE

Contrary to popular belief, customer loyalty is not built through great customer service, according to a study by the Customer Contact Council. Instead, customer loyalty is built by “reducing (the guest’s) effort—the work they must do to get their problem solved.”

That’s why Ilstrup empowers his staff to solve issues as they arise.

“We train the staff to have the right frame right of mind, and then we never question their decisions,” Ilstrup said.

As a result of great customer service, Ilstrup said the main benefit for his hotel is not only referrals or favorable reviews, but also the “positive attitude the staff has all the time.” And that, in turn, benefits the guests, too.

RECOGNIZE YOUR STAFF

You also should establish an employee recognition program. Staff members always appreciate being noticed for going above and beyond. This is not an employee-of-the-month award; rather, it’s calling out “wins.” Your program will hopefully lead to increased productivity and high morale.

Check out what Hilton does:

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Revelation PR, Advertising & Social Media offers hotels, B&Bs and resorts services related to media relations, community relations, branding, group sales, SEO/SEM and social media management. Please contact Brian Lee, brian [at] experiencerevelation.com or 608-622-7767.