Customer Experience - The SineCera Way

Do You Treat Your Best Customers Like Royalty?

Or are your best Customers receiving the very same Customer Service Experience as your least important Customers?

Do you know who your best Customers are?  By name?

Stop for a moment.  List off your ten best Customers. 

Can you list your ten best Customers?

What kind of Customer Service Experience do you deliver to your ten best Customers?

Is it different from all the rest?

Like you (or perhaps not), I tend to be a pretty loyal Customer.  I am a member of several rewards programs such as Northwest Airlines Worldperks and Marriott's Rewards Program.  No...  It is not all about the points I accumulate - although I do love points.

A significant reason I am a loyal Customer is due to the Customer Service Experience I receive.

• On the plane, I typically fly First Class due to my free upgrades.
• In the hotel, I typically am at least recognized for my status as a frequent stayer of Marriott.

Why am I member of Customer-centric programs like these?  The answer is really simple.  I like to be treated like the Customer I am.  I am unique.  As a Customer who spends a lot of money with some companies, I expect to be treated differently than people who do not spend as much and/or are not as loyal.

You might say, "Chris...  NWA and the entire airline industry are not shining examples of fine Customer Service Experiences."

I tend to agree and disagree.  In general, the airline industry does not do a very good job taking care of the Customer.

Yet, I can say with 100 percent confidence that when companies like NWA and Marriott realize who I am and how much I have spent with them over the years, I am treated differently - when they realize who I am.  They know who I am.  They communicate with me.  They thank me for my business days and weeks after I did business with them (mail and email).  They remind me that I am a preferred Customer.

I like that.  As a Customer, I like being treated differently from all of the rest very, very much.

Most Customers agree with me. 

Are you differentiating your Customer Service Experience based on who your Customers are?  Or are your high-value Customers being provided the same Customer Service Experiences as your low value Customers? 

Key Customer Service Experience Message...  If you want my loyalty and my money, you must treat me differently - better than all of the rest.

Last summer I had my deck rebuilt.  The huge "home improvement" chain treated me just like everyone else - on the day I purchased $10,000 in materials and every single time I have been there since.  This company has lost a powerful opportunity to treat me differently.  They have lost a powerful opportunity to capture a long-term relationship that is not based only on price, price, price.

The huge office supply store I frequent treats me like everyone else - everyone gets the little rebate credit - everyone gets treated courteously as they enter the store - everyone gets upsold when they buy electronics.

How can you deliver a better Customer Service Experience to your best Customers?

1. Acknowledge your best Customers are different from all the rest.
2. Tell your best Customers you appreciate them - often.
3. Give your best Customers Service that is beyond what everyone else gets.
4. Select only employee team members who are capable and willing to deliver your desired Customer Service Experience.
5. Do the above four Customer Service Strategies consistently.

Now go Maximize Possibility!

Other blog posts you may be interested in:

• Don't Destroy Customer Value by Assuming You Know What the Customer Wants
• Cultural Change Begins with Personal Accountability
• Five Signs Personal Accountability Isn't a Core Cultural Value
• Creating a Powerful Customer Experience by Exceeding Expectations

Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.  Bring Chris in today!

1-866-988-RAIN

 

 

Copyright 2008, Chris Young - The Rainmaker Group, Inc. 

Customer Service Strategy: Don't Destroy Customer Value By Assuming You Know What the Customer Wants

Is it safe to assume that all Customers want to save money?

I think so…  But I think it is important to keep in perspective how your Customer wants to save it.

We could fix their problem two ways…

1.       Fix it cheaply now – but not completely (a “bandaid”) – the problem may come back later at a worse time.

2.       Fix it right – now – fully, without a doubt that the problem will not recur.

Key thought – Are you creating Customer Service Value or are you subjecting them to your perspective?

Are your assumptions of trying to save your Customer money actually causing more harm than good?  Are you putting a “bandaid” on a problem that will recur at the worst possible time for your Customer?

It is important to remember…  Many Customers will do EXACTLY what you suggest.  They trust you.  You are the EXPERT.

Do not assume they want to save money.  Assume your Customer wants the most valuable solution to their problem that will fix it completely.

Please allow me to share a story to illustrate.

A year ago, we purchased a building that has four apartments on the second floor.  We allowed the existing property manager to continue managing the apartments.  Little did we know that the property manager was a “penny pincher” to the extreme. 

That might sound really great – to have a property manager who is conscious of cutting costs.  But this property manager took it to a level we did not want.  He thought he was helping us when he was actually hurting us by destroying Customer Value with our Tenants.

The benefit of having a property manager is that they deal with all of the renting, maintaining, repairing, and cleaning of the apartments.  When there is any type of problem that a tenant has, the property manager brings in a repair person.

The four apartments are heated and cooled from one furnace and one air conditioning unit.  The “magic” of being able to do so and keep everyone comfortably happy is through the use of “zone controllers” that are wired to a thermostat in each apartment.  The “zone controllers” enable each tenant to choose their own desired heating and cooling setting.  There is one “zone controller” for each apartment or four total.

During a big storm in March, one of the “zone controllers” failed.  The property manager brought in a heating and cooling contractor who asked the property manager what he wanted him to do.  The property manager thought he was there to save us money so he said, “remove all but one of the zone controllers”.  In other words, the contractor removed three of the four zone controllers to “save” us money.

The results were ugly.  With only one zone controller working – one tenant had their desired temperature of 70 degrees.  The rest varied from 73 to almost 85 degrees.

Imagine living in 85 degree heat.  Yes…  The tenant became very, very upset.

The bottom line – the tenant with the 85 degree heat became VERY frustrated and ultimately left the window open all the time (wasting energy) and then proceeded to flood the apartment in frustration.

We (the building owners) did not know what was going on until we had water damage on the main floor and the 85 degree apartment was flooded.

What was the real problem?

The property manager wanted to save us money on repair costs.  His primary objective was to “save” us money.  Our primary objective was to take great care of our Customers.  In other words, we wanted each tenant to comfortably choose their desired temperature.  Therefore, we did not want only one zone controller.  We wanted the heating system fully-repaired to maximize comfort for our valued tenants.

Our property manager destroyed the Customer Value we were hoping to create by trying to save us money. 

The question I have for you…

What assumptions are you making for your Customers that may not be accurate?  Are you trying to save money for a Customer when it is actually hurting them more in terms of additional costs down the road and causing their Customers to be upset?  How are your assumptions about what the Customer wants destroying Customer Value rather than creating it?

The best solution is to solve both today and tomorrow’s problem.  Solve the current problem and solve the future problem.  Doing this will Maximize the Customer Value that your organization is able to create.

Now go Maximize Possibility!

Other blog posts you may be interested in:

• What we can all Learn About Customer Service From Ozzy Osbourne
• Cultural Change Begins with Personal Accountability
• Five Signs Personal Accountability Isn't a Core Cultural Value
• Creating a Powerful Customer Experience by Exceeding Expectations

Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.  Bring Chris in today!

1-866-988-RAIN

Copyright 2008, Chris Young - The Rainmaker Group, Inc. 

Why Customer Service Training Is Usually Lipstick on a Pig

Every day we get calls from people across the United States seeking Customer Service Training.

The conversation goes something like the following...

"We need someone to come in and do some Customer Service Training for our hospital.  Can you give me a price?"  The statement and question are seemingly tied together to get the conversation started and concluded as quickly as possible.  We have been here before.  They want a price and a program.

"Can you tell me a little about your organization please?" we ask.

"I'm just an admin assistant.  My boss, the CEO just wants to know how much," is the typical response.

Quick aside...  What does it say about the leadership of a hospital, clinic, law firm, or a business if they hand off something as strategic as Customer Experience Strategy to an admin assistant to do their research?  Hold a minute.  I need to call my stock broker so that I can sell some shares... 

Continuing on... 

"Oh...  Well, unfortunately, we are really not able to be of real assistance unless we know more about your situation and organization."

Their response is almost universally incredulous, "You can't give me a price for Customer Service training?"

"No, I am afraid we cannot until we understand your unique situation."

"I just want a price."

Click.

Sometimes the conversation goes deeper and we learn more but rarely and here is why...

Most organizations are really not very interested in changing their Customer Experience.  Customer Service is lip service at best.  We see this problem in medical facilities with alarming regularity.

The Customer Service Training Initiative is usually kicked into high gear as the result of the CEO saying, "Someone get someone in here to do some Customer Service Training!"  What usually sparks this order is a lousy Press Ganey score.

The wheels start in motion.  The CEO thinks they are going to solve a Customer Experience problem through training alone.  Imagine that. 

Can I be frank?  Of course I can...

Customer Service Training is ''lipstick on a pig".

Customer Service Training by itself does NOTHING to change your Customer Experience.  I do not care if you are a clinic, hospital, law firm, call center, or a restaurant.  Your Customer Experience hinges on the following three critical elements...

The Right People (1) doing The Right Things (2) working in The Right Culture (3).

• Ignore having the right talent doing the job and your Customer Experience will suffer greatly.
• Ignore having the right talent doing the right things at the right time and your Customer Experience will be lousy on a good day.
• Ignore having the right talent doing the right things at the right time in a world of leadership accountability and your Customer Experience will be memorable and avoided.   

If you are missing just one of the above three critical Customer Experience Elements, you are in dire straits.

In other words, Customer Service Training out-of-a-box does nothing, zero, zilch, nada to improve your Customer Experience.  If Customer Service Training is entertaining, we call it "Trainertainment".

If you really must check the box saying "We did some Customer Service Training for our team this year," then call a local college and bring in someone who is a "talking head" and get it overwith cheaply. 

Or better yet - save your money - get serious about your Customer Experience and bring in real change agents. 

Now Go Maximize Possibility

Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.  Bring Chris in today!

1-866-988-RAIN

Copyright 2008, Chris Young - The Rainmaker Group, Inc. 

Hospital Customer Service

In terms of Hospital Customer Service, where are the stakes the highest?  Where emotions run frayed and the potential to emotionally hurt a patient is very likely?  The answer is the Emergency Room.

Over the years, we have had countless visits to Emergency Rooms - both via our consulting practice as well as via my 6 year old son, Macauley who has broken his arm twice.  What little boy doesn't spend time at the ER?

Macauley has broken his arm twice now.  The first time was on a bouncy thing in our living room and while painful, it was manageable for Macauley and ourselves.  We went to the ER and were treated.  That ER Customer Experience wasn't bad, it wasn't good, it was just an ER visit.  It was blah.  Average.  Normal.  Nothing major to note.  We came and we left.  End of story.

Nice building though.  But wait.  That's expected.  If you don't have a nice building, and a competitor ER down the road does, patients might go there next time. 

The second time, Macauley's break was more painful - for him as well as Mom and Dad.  I remember three things about that day.  I remember the sounds of the thud and the scream of Macualey hitting the ground.  I remember praying that his pain would go away and saying to myself, "I wish my arm was broken and not Macauley's."  It was emotionally traumatic.  And I vividly remember how we were treated by Dr. Gordy. 

As luck would have it, our ER Doc was none other than Dr. Gordy.  I haven't done this before, but I am tempted to ask Dr. Gordy what he does for a living because he is unlike other ER staff I have seen both personally and professionally.  Dr. Gordy touches lives emotionally in ways I think few ER doctors do.

As a scared Dad, I didn't ask Dr. Gordy to show me his credentials.  I assumed that because it is a well-respected hospital that his doctor abilities would be nothing less than the best.  And they were.

And there lies the problem.  Hospitals focus on the technical side of things - the ability to do procedures, to follow protocol.  And they should.  But there needs to be an emotional element or standard as well in the Hospital Customer Service Experience.  And it is missing BIG TIME.

I don't want to say that Hospital and ER staff don't care about people.  I know they do.  ER staff are under tremendous pressure and are highly educated and trained to overcome life's small and large challenges.  They save lives.  They make a difference.  But all medical organizations make this difference because one may assume (incorrectly) that all medical organizations that are certified are good at what they do.

My concern is that most Hospital Emergency Room Customer Service Experiences are focused solely on the physical or technical issues of the patient.  You are probably wondering...  "Tell me what you mean..."

Please allow me to share an example of my son's broken arm and the treatment we all received by Dr. Gordy...  Remember.  We were scared to death.  My son was crying.  I was crying on the inside.  We were worried.  Dr. Gordy walks into the room and among his first words, he said something like, "Do you have a punchcard?  I think by now you might have a free visit." 

I laughed.

Macauley laughed. 

My wife laughed.

For a moment, we forgot that Macauley's arm was broken.  We were touched.  And we became a Dr. Gordy fan.

Dr. Gordy stood out.  Why?  Because he touched our lives and not just physically but also emotionally.  He left us in better condition than he found us and he treated everyone there today, not just my son, Macualey.

Unfortunately, not everyone that day shared Dr. Gordy's philosophy.

I don't mean to sound cynical here.  I really don't.  But I see it all the time.  I see banners suggesting that hospitals really care about patients.  I believe they do.  Average Hospitals care about the physical needs of the patients.  Amazing Hospitals care about the emotional needs as well.  Here are just some of the things I have seen over the years in a Hospital ER:

• An amazing experience with a nurse who spends quality time and appears to really care and then a doctor walks in and treats the patient like a piece of meat. 
• An amazing experience with a doctor who spends quality time and appears to really care about the patient as a human being and then a professional staff person walks in treating the patient indifferently.
• Over a 20 minute time period, I have seen over 100 Hospital ER team members walk by a patient on a gurney in a hallway exposed to the world and not one of them acknowledged the patient.  Several team members walked by repeatedly - all without acknowledging the patient.
• I have seen medical staff laugh and chit chat outside the room of someone who just passed away where friends and family members are grieving and saying their "good byes". 

I can't tell you how many wonderful Hospital ERs I have been in.  I have been shown blueprints of new medical facilities and I always wonder, "Where's the blueprint of how the patient will be treated?"  The problem is most people think that the Medical Customer Service Experience is about nice buildings filled with technically proficient staff.

It's a standard.  It's a given.  If you aren't technically proficient, you aren't treating patients.  So technical proficiency is a given. 

If you don't have a nice building and a hospital 3 blocks away does, then you aren't innovative and cutting edge.  In other words, you are old.  So everyone is putting up nice buildings.

Fact.  Nice buildings with technically proficient medical staff are a dime a dozen.  They are everywhere.  There is no competitive advantage.  Either you have the technical staff and the nice surroundings or you don't and you lose if competition nearby does. 

The REAL opportunity is through how you treat the Patient.  Your Patient Customer Service Experience is what will set you apart from your competition.  Why?  Simply because most people only pay lip service to Patient Customer Service.  It's in marketing brochures and commercials plastered everywhere about how you will be cared about at XYZ Hospital.

The problem.  Go to XYZ Hospital and see how many times you are greeted by a staff member as you walk the halls.  Chances are, you won't be greeted unless you obviously look like you shouldn't be where you are.

Why create emotionally-engaging Patient Customer Service Experiences?  Most importantly, your patients deserve it.  During the toughest emotional times of our lives, we as human beings deserve to be treated with respect, love, and empathy.  Unfortunately, most medical organizations don't get that.  They think it's about the building and technically proficient staff when that's icing on the cake.

What do you do about this problem?  It's really quite simple.  Cultural change takes time.  Do the following four things, and your Patient Customer Service Experience will soar.

1. Create a culture of Medical Customer Service Experience Accountability.  If you can pass by a patient without acknowledging them, you don't work here anymore.
2. Build Hospital Customer Service Touch Points - Create "Moments of Truth" where your team can purposely help your patients feel emotionally better.
3. Hire and retain the right people.  I see too many Medical Organizations who are quick to hire and slow to fire when people don't live up to Customer Experience expectations. 
4. Help your medical staff understand why they are really there.  To make a difference in the lives of those they touch.  If they can't get that, then help them find work with your competition.

Now go Maximize Possibility!

Other blog posts you may be interested in:

• Seven Contributing Factors to Glenn Beck's Hospital Visit Gone Wrong
• No Problem is a Customer Service Phrase Problem
• Consistency is Key to Creating an Exceptional Customer Experience
• Creating a Powerful Customer Experience by Exceeding Expectations

Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.  Bring Chris in today!

1-866-988-RAIN

Copyright 2006, Chris Young - The Rainmaker Group, Inc. 

Angry Customers Mirror You!

When the chips are down and your Customer is angry, the best defense is a SMILE!  Customers will reflect how you treat them.  Treat them indifferently, they will act indifferently.

Over the weekend, I was at a Civic Center event that involved a lot of people waiting in line.  The promised time the "gates" would open was at 4 pm.  The appointed time came and went and with it the tempers of many people waiting in line.  To make matters even more interesting.  The event was a general seating program.  First come - first served. 

What went wrong was at least two things.  First of all, the expectations of the crowd was 4 pm, not 4:10 or 5, but 4 pm.  Key thought here.  Always exceed expectations.  Always.  The public address announcer even mentioned the time less than an hour earlier and it was publicized on the radio and in the newspapers.  The second thing that went wrong was how the person working the "gate" handled the situation.  She didn't smile.  She didn't say, "I am so sorry this is happening to you."  She didn't say, "Let me see what I can do for you."  She said, "I don't make decisions around here.  The guy upstairs does."

It was like gas on a fire.  People were ANGRY! 

I won't repeat some of the nasty things I heard.

Part of the problem is the person managing the gate thought they were there to manage the gate.  They didn't realize that the real reason they are their is to make a difference in the lives of their Customers. 

Remember what kind of doctors get sued the most?  That's right...  Rude ones.

You might read the blog: What kind of doctors get sued the most?

What kind of people draw the most fire from angry Customers?  Rude ones.

The Law of Attraction is that we get what we expect.  We mirror one another's emotions.  And your Customers mirror your emotions.  This "mirroring" happens whether you like to believe it or not.  Treat someone indifferently, they will do the same back to you.  If you seem interested in them as human beings, they will do the same to you and one another.  Treat them rudely, and they will treat you rudely. 

The Antidote to angry Customers is quite simple...  Don't be indifferent.  Use the power of emotion through:

1. Eye Contact - Use it - it shows sincerity.
2. Smile - Use it often - it disarms even the hardest of hearts.
3. Name - Where possible - tell people who you are and ask who they are.
4. Be a Difference-Maker - tell a joke, laugh, be human.
5. Empathy - Acknowledge emotions.
6. Expectations - Always exceed them.  Always.

When a Customer is angry is the precise time to show them that you care!

Now go Maximize Possibility!

Other blog posts you may be interested in:

• Customer Service Defined by Four Little Words
• Consistency is Key to an Exceptional Customer Experience
• Bad Customer Service - What is it Costing You?
• Are Your Vendors Hurting the Customer's Experience

Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.  Bring Chris in today!

1-866-988-RAIN

Copyright 2008, Chris Young - The Rainmaker Group, Inc. 

Why Customer Service Initiatives Fail

Customer Service Training Programs and Customer Experience Initiatives fail simply because they don't encompass a holistic approach based on...  People, Culture, and Touch Points.

I recently had a meeting with a hospital where they said, "We spent a whole bunch of money training our entire staff and it failed."  As we reviewed what "went wrong" I found the voice in my head saying, "It was doomed from the start."  I can't tell you how many times a month I hear this exact same thing. 

The client in particular has several thousand team members and they wanted to improve their Hospital Customer Service and decided to put everyone through the same Medical Customer Service Training Program.  So they hired an outside consultant who gave them learning materials and showed the medical organization's internal trainers how to train it.  The trainers had their hearts in the right place, but they didn't feel like they were connecting during the actual training process.  They noticed that some people seemed to "get it" yet some didn't seem to care.

The medical facility trainers also noticed that some team members said things like, "Why isn't so-and-so here?" and other comments like, "When will that department do their job?"

The problem is three-fold...  The first problem is what we call "drive-by training."  What is it?  It's simply where we apply a large training band-aid to improve the Customer Experience by getting a bunch of people together in the same place and the reality is it may only be accomplishing the task of creating awareness about the issue.

Unlike technical training, Customer Experience deals with human emotion where the answer isn't "yes" or "no" but rather varying shades of gray.  Human emotion is like that.  Therefore, the one-size-fits-all approach does not work. 

Like many organizations, the typical medical organization is quite large and complex.  What is needed in one department to improve the Customer Experience may not be what is needed elsewhere in other departments.  This is why system-wide learning objectives fail.  Imagine going to a doctor who only prescribed aspirin.  If you have a headache - that's great!  If you have a broken leg, it might take the edge off the pain, but it won't deal with the core problem.  The end-result of blanket training initiatives - poor results and reduced team member morale as they go to yet another training on "how to be nice." 

If you want to improve the Customer Experience of an organization, you need to work on the individual parts as part of the whole.  Having people corralled into a classroom from ten different departments will do little for you in terms of creating lasting change.  Work on one department at a time.

The second problem is cultural.  If you are in an organization where it is acceptable to assign blame to others, play the victim, and/or procrastinate, you simply cannot train anything until you create the culture of Personal Accountability.  For more on enhancing your organization's Personal Accountability - please see www.personalaccountabilityatwork.com. 

The third problem is your team members are unique.  People are complex Behaviorally as well as from a Values and Personal Attributes perspective.  What does this mean?  If you don't know how to talk with your team members - to really touch them and help them emotionally own the changes - you are missing an opportunity to connect to inspire them to want to create the desired Customer Experience.  It is impossible to connect with people at the emotional level required to make the sustainable change you want via an organization-wide learning program.  It doesn't work.

What to do? 

1. Realize that cultural change isn't going to happen with a class or two.  And generalized training is extremely ineffective.  It's largely a waste of time when applied to Customer Service Improvement.
2. Recognize that if you don't have the right people inspired to make their difference in the world via an organization with a culture of Personal Accountability doing the right things at generally the right times, your Customer Service Training Change Initiative will fail.  And fail miserably.  When you have all three critical areas in alignment, we call that a Sincera Customer Experience.  It's the real deal. 
3. Begin with basics.  Review your Mission, Vision, and Values at the organization-level.  Ask yourself in your department.  What human condition (emotionally) are we here to improve upon?  What will our legacy be?  Answer that question before doing any Customer Experience enhancement work at all.  If your people don't know where they are going - any road will get them where they aren't going.
4. Create a culture of Personal Accountability.  Without it, most learning and change initiatives fail miserably?  Why?  Because people love to create excuses both verbally and in their head about why it won't work.  Personal Accountability learning will stop blame, victim-thinking, and procrastination cold.  If you are interested in learning more - drop me an email at chris@therainmakergroupinc.com and I will send you a 70 minute book called QBQ - The Question Behind the Question.  Powerful thought process and learning program.

Now go Maximize Possibility!

Other blog posts you may be interested in:

• Why Traditional Customer Service Training is Usually a Lousy Idea
• Consistency is Key to an Exceptional Customer Experience
• Bad Customer Service - What is it Costing You?
• Are Your Vendors Hurting the Customer's Experience

Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.  Bring Chris in today!

1-866-988-RAIN

Copyright 2008, Chris Young - The Rainmaker Group, Inc. 

What Kind of Doctors Get Sued Most Often?

There isn't a lot of concrete evidence regarding the financial impact of poorly treating Customers - or in this case Patients.  One can assume that if you treat the Patient poorly, that's a strong negative...  A 2002 study sheds light on the impact of how a surgeon's tone may influence a patient's decision to sue the surgeon...

Whether you are in the Medical Customer Service field or not, this article and thought process will benefit you...  Feel free to remove the medical thought process and replace it with your organization's job titles, situations, and Customer Experiences.  This is a universal thought process.

What kind of doctor gets sued the most?

Brain surgeon?  There's a lot at stake...

Cardiologist?  Lots can go wrong...

Pediatrician?  Hurt me and I can live with that.  Hurt a child and the jury will award significant damages...

Anesthesiologist?

Give up?

The answer...  Rude doctors.  Consider the following excerpt from the medical journal - Surgery (Volume 132, Number 1)

When things go wrong, a surgeon's tone of voice may influence a patient's decision to sue the surgeon, according to a study supported in part by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (HS07289). After controlling for content of conversations, the researchers found that surgeons whose tone of voice signaled less concern/anxiety and more dominance during routine visits with surgical patients were more likely to have been sued than those whose tone was less dominant and more concerned. Researchers audio-taped 114 conversations during routine medical visits between 57 orthopedic and general surgeons and their patients.

Raters who were blind to surgeons' malpractice claims history evaluated 10-second voice clips with content and 10-second voice clips with just voice tone. The sound bites were taped during the first and last minute of each surgeon's interactions with two different patients. Based on the content-filtered audiotapes, surgeons who were judged to be more dominant and less concerned or anxious in tone were more likely to have been sued than surgeons who were judged to be less dominant and more concerned and anxious.

These findings suggest that how the surgeon conveys a message may be as important as what the surgeon says. Expressions of dominance may communicate a lack of empathy and understanding for the patient, while concern or anxiety in the voice is usually associated with empathy. Dominance coupled with a lack of anxiety in the voice may imply surgeon indifference and lead a patient to launch a malpractice suit when poor outcomes occur, explain the researchers. They suggest that listening to brief audio clips might be a useful way to provide feedback and give surgeons a sense of how they sound during interactions, which may improve care satisfaction and reduce lawsuits.

More details are in "Surgeons' tone of voice: A clue to malpractice history," by Nalini Ambady, Ph.D., Debi LaPlante, M.A., Thai Nguyen, B.A., and others, in the July 2002 Surgery 132, pp. 5-9.

How we treat others will determine how they feel.  If something should go wrong in the Patient or Medical Customer Service Experience, the potential of being sued increases dramatically based on whether or not the patient feels emotionally positive about the doctor.

Question.  Does it matter if we are thinking about doctors, nurses, nurse aids, phlebs, administrators, admissions representatives, custodians, or surgical techs?  It absolutely doesn't matter.  How we treat the Patient will have tremendous ramifications for whether or not they sue, come back, or tell others to come to your facility or avoid it.

The choice is yours. 

Points to consider...

What is your Medical Customer Service Experience like right now?  Where are your critical "touch points" where your Patient may be emotionally-harmed?  Again - don't limit it to the doctor's office. 

• Is your voice mail painful to listen to?
• Is your admitting process devoid of empathy?
• Is your waiting room painful to sit in?
• Is the promised wait time longer than promised?
• Do team members walk past lost Patients?
• Are Patients properly greeted upon arrival?
• Do Patients feel important?
• Is your billing complicated and frustrating?
• Are Patients acknowledged by all medical team members?

How do your team members treat your Patients, the lifeblood of your organization?  Indifferently?  Patients who are treated indifferently - sue indifferently (see the article - The Opposite of Love is Indifference (http://www.sinceracustomerexperience.com/2006/10/customer_experi.html#more).  It's tough to be angry with someone you like. 

Lastly...  Another big question.  What is your hiring and coaching strategy regarding your Medical Customer Service Experience?  Are you purposely using personality profiling tools to ensure you are hiring the kind of people that are fully capable of delivering a warm Medical Customer Service Experience?

Now go Maximize Possibility!

Other blog posts you may be interested in:

• Seven Contributing Factors to Glenn Beck's Hospital Visit Gone Wrong
• No Problem is a Customer Service Phrase Problem
• Consistency is Key to Creating an Exceptional Customer Experience
• Creating a Powerful Customer Experience by Exceeding Expectations

Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.  Bring Chris in today!

1-866-988-RAIN

Copyright 2008, Chris Young - The Rainmaker Group, Inc. 

The Worst F-Word = FINE

In Customer Experience Creation, there are few words that are more poisonous than the word, "fine."  Everything is never completely "fine."  There is always something that could be better.  When you ask the right question, you will get the answer you need to improve your Customer Experience...

Feelings Inside Not Expressed

In America, we spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to do more with less. We call this productivity - doing more with the same or fewer resources. It has worked. We have mastered the biggest technological advances known to mankind. We truly are getting more done now than ever. But at what cost?

Our relationships suffer more than ever. Why do we do this? It's because we choose to communicate without really touching one another in a meaningful way. The result is significantly reduced emotional customer engagements. This translates into reduced loyalty in medicine, at the store, at the workplace and in life. 

When we do talk to each other, we often miss opportunities to really engage each other, and to really have a meaningful interaction with one another. When we are speaking to our fellow man - our customers - we abuse them by asking questions that give us a false sense of security that everything is all right, when in reality, everything is not all right.

Why do we do this?  It's because we don't have the guts to hear the truth.  We tell ourselves that we are busy and we are afraid.  Very afraid.  To compensate, we ask a question that over 50 percent of the population will answer with one word...  "Fine."  We know what the answer will be, yet we ask.

How many engagements start out with,
"How are you?"
"I am fine... and you?"
"Fine."

What just happened here? We ask a superficial question and get a superficial answer. We haven't touched that person's life. They don't feel that we really care.  If they did, they would tell us.  We have missed an opportunity to touch another's life.

Also consider one of my favorites,
"How is your food?"
"Fine," we say as we continue talking to our friend over lunch without looking up at the waiter or waitress.

Why don't we look up? Because we feel the person asking the question isn't really interested. Why do we say "fine" when the fries are cold or the burger isn't just right? Because we really don't think they care anyways. Perhaps we don't like being interrupted. Or... We are worried about the time it will take. So we don't bother and an opportunity is missed to truly engage another human being.

And in many settings - medical, retail, call center, and way to many other places to mention - people aren't acknowledged. 

According to dictionary.com, the word, "fine" means:
Satisfactory; acceptable: Handing in your paper on Monday is fine.

According to The Rainmaker Group, the word, "fine" means: Feelings Inside Not Expressed - STOP! You have asked the wrong question! Go back and ask a question beginning with "what" or "how": Everything is just fine.

Let's kick it up another notch... Is getting a "yes" or "no" response any better than getting, "fine"? Nope.

How about this classic when the grocery store cashier asks, "Did you find everything today?" Naturally the answer is "yes" even though we are thinking of something we should have found. Yet we don't ask for it.

Why do we do that? Why does the cashier ask a meaningless question without even looking at you? Why don't we catch their eye and ask for their help? Do they really care? I like to think they do... They just don't know a better way. They are trained to be robotic. And they don't know that the answer "fine" is a signal that they can do better.

Why do phlebotomists fail to acknowledge patients?  I have seen many instances where there was barely a word exchanged.  No emotional engagement!  Ouch!  And I don't mean to pick on one profession...  This is a disease, my friends.  This is a disease you can stop right now.  You might check out my blog called, "The Opposite of Love is Indifference" by pointing your browser to...  http://www.sinceracustomerexperience.com/2006/10/customer_experi.html#more.

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?  We dance the dance in life asking empty questions in a meaningless way getting some sort of comfort from it when we hear the answer of "fine" or, "yes" when they really meant, "No... my fries are cold, my heart is hurting, and I am having a bad day."  Human beings are hurting!

Is this acceptable? No! We can do better! There is no greater privilege than touching another human being in a way that says, "I care about you."

Honoring the greatness in our fellow man does not allow us to ask meaningless questions that really do nothing to truly engage and help our fellow man, our customer. A better, more life-fulfilling approach is to ask the right question to begin with, because as soon as we hear the answer "fine" we know we have asked the wrong question.

The wrong question elicits the wrong answer. The wrong question robs us of the opportunity to really touch another human being in a way that just doesn't happen often enough in today's world.

So we have established what we shouldn't do. What kind of question elicits a response that doesn't include the words fine, yes, or no?

Come with me on this mental exercise...

First, we must have eye contact and a smile. With eye contact and a smile, we can disarm even the crankiest of our fellow man, patients, and customers. And when we show we care by giving our fellow man the most basic human respect such as eye contact and a smile, they are more likely to really share their stories. When we make eye contact, it's like we are shutting off the auto-pilot and the soul comes out.  It's like shutting off the safety switch and coming out.

I am sure you will agree with me when I suggest we feel that people care more about us when they take that moment to connect with us. Since we cannot control others, let's work on us!  I will work on myself first.  I will lead by example.

Second, we need to ask a question that won't get the automatic "fine" robotic response.

Try questions like these for size. Take a moment. Roll them off your tongue one by one:

- "What can I do to improve??"
- "How can I help you??"
- "What are two things I can do to...?"

Notice these three questions begin with "what" or "how" and don't allow the meaningless response of "fine" or "yes" or "no"? These questions beginning with "What" or "How" that contain an "I" show our customer that we really care and really want to help them. When used in combination with eye contact and a smile, we have an incredible combination that will help us really engage with your customer.

Notice that the beginning of each of the above sentences don't begin with a "did" or an "is."

For example:
- "Did you find everything?"
- "Is everything ok?"

When we ask these questions, we have to remember we are all conditioned to answer with a token "fine," "yes," or "no." The response we get is a direct result of the question we ask.

Notice both question examples get us the monosyllabic answer "yes" or "no." A "yes" or a "no" response does NOTHING for us nor for them. It enables our fellow man, patient, and customer to hide and gives you no opportunity to really engage and truly help them in whatever they really need.

When we do get the "yes" or "no" or "fine" response, don't be hard on yourself, just start afresh! Simply re-ask the question.

Please take some time today. Start with five minutes if you can't spare more. Just start somewhere. Look at your customer's face - look in their eyes. Think of the uniqueness of that person for a moment. What does it tell you? Ask yourself, "What can I do to honor this person?"  Ask... "How can I make a difference in this one person's life?"

Ask better questions. Take an extra moment to really touch that person to really understand them:
- "What can I do to improve your day?"
- "What did you do this weekend?"

Now go Maximize Possibility!

Other blog posts you may be interested in:

• What Time is the Three O'Clock Parade?
• Being a "Yes Man" Helps to Create a Powerful Customer Experience
• Angry Customers Mirror You
• Don't Let Customers Ruin the Experience

Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.  Bring Chris in today!

1-866-988-RAIN

Copyright 2008, Chris Young - The Rainmaker Group, Inc. 

Customer Experience Creation - The Opposite of Love is Indifference

The Opposite of Love isn't Hate...  It's Indifference...  What does indifference cost you and your organization?

The opposite of love isn't hate.  It's indifference.

My good friend Don shared this thought with me during a Customer Service Experience learning program we were delivering to a major motorsports organization.  The profound nature of this statement and the emotions tied to it blew me away.

It still blows me away.

How often do we pass by people without acknowledging them?  Way too often...  As Lance Secretan says in his great books (you need to read them!), we are all connected.  We all want to be loved and feel important.  Every time we pass by another human being - another soul - without acknowledging them - we miss an important opportunity to share our humanity and to lift others up. 

In some cultures, walking by someone without acknowledging them is a way of communicating, "In my eyes you do not exist."  Imagine what that must feel like.  And I take it for granted in the name of being busy...  It's a cold way of being...

Why do I do this?  I really believe it is an unconscious act.  But part of it is conscious - more on this later...  Sometimes I get so busy in life working on the tasks that I am checking off my list that I forget the important things.  Perhaps you find yourself in the same place - busy with little time to do what matters - like pay attention to those around us. 

One day, I will die.  And the question burning in my mind right now - and I know I will ask myself it - did my impact on this world really matter?  Did I make the biggest possible difference I could have?  Treating others indifferently leads to only one thing - more indifference - and ultimately it leads to me diminishing what is possible in the lives of others.

How do people act when they are treated with indifference?  Indifferently.  We are emotional creatures.  What is done to us, we do to others.  The opportunity is to create a different story - a story of hope, optimism, love, and difference-making.  I recently listened to Daniel Goleman's Social Intelligence audio program.  In it he talked about how emotionally contagious we are to one another with regard to how we feel and how others pick that up.  How often do I help others feel unimportant because I treat them indifferently?  I must stop this emotional virus-passing! 

Is this what I want my legacy to be?  Absolutely not.  This is the conscious part...  And opportunity...  I can consciously choose to acknowledge others and give them the attention the deserve and hope for.  I think a lot of the world is hurting from lack of love and attention. 

Recently, I received some attention while shopping at Target a woman walked by me and looked me right in the eye and smiled.  It warmed my heart.  I remember thinking, "Wow!"  I found myself a bit refreshed.  I found more energy in that moment and afterwards.  I immediately thought about paying it forward to others - to give them the love they needed.

Sounds corny, doesn't it?  But you know what?  As a 35 year old man on his journey, I will remember the feeling I received as I treated others with kindness by not ignoring them when I could have.  That's energy...  That's the power of connecting. 

One of our clients has a powerful Difference-Maker on their bus.  Her name is Maureen.  When I call, I always hope she answers the phone because the warmth is amazing.  At our zoo, they have some tortoise turtles who love to bask under heat lamps.  That's how I feel when I talk with Maureen...  Warm.  And when I see her - she greets me with a warm smile and a warm two-handed handshake.  Maureen lives the opposite of indifference.  She's a Daymaker of the best kind!  And Maureen is a very powerful spirit because of the way she helps people feel...  Question...  What would you do to have more "Maureens" as part of your Customer Experience Management Strategy?

Take a few moments to think about your Customer Experience.  Not just your organization's or your department's, but yours personally.  What does your Customer Experience feel like?  Are people treated indifferently on a routine basis by you and your team members?  Perhaps you might start out by acknowledging your team members and in turn help them feel the impact of acknowledging others.  Every Customer Service Training Program should include helping team members realize the true power of making a positive impact in the lives of others.  No exceptions.  Unfortunately, most Customer Service Training Programs focus on the "what" to do and not the "how" to do it.  The "how" is what matters most, after all...

Hey...  Can we partner to make indifference an endangered species.  One small act - repeated several times a day - by greeting and acknowledging those we meet will touch their hearts and who knows - it might even save a life.  Acknowledgement is the ultimate form of Daymaking that I can think of.  And interestingly - I am not sure whose day is made better - mine or the other person's.

Now go Maximize Possibility!

Other blog posts you may be interested in:

• Customer Service Defined by Four Little Words
• Consistency is Key to an Exceptional Customer Experience
• Bad Customer Service - What is it Costing You?
• Are Your Vendors Hurting the Customer's Experience

Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.  Bring Chris in today!

1-866-988-RAIN

Copyright 2008, Chris Young - The Rainmaker Group, Inc. 

The opposite of love isn't hate.  It's indifference.

My good friend Don shared this thought with me during a Customer Service Experience learning program we were delivering to a major motorsports organization.  The profound nature of this statement and the emotions tied to it blew me away.

It still blows me away.

How often do we pass by people without acknowledging them?  Way too often...  As Lance Secretan says in his great books (you need to read them!), we are all connected.  We all want to be loved and feel important.  Every time we pass by another human being - another soul - without acknowledging them - we miss an important opportunity to share our humanity and to lift others up. 

In some cultures, walking by someone without acknowledging them is a way of communicating, "In my eyes you do not exist."  Imagine what that must feel like.  And I take it for granted in the name of being busy...  It's a cold way of being...

Why do I do this?  I really believe it is an unconscious act.  But part of it is conscious - more on this later...  Sometimes I get so busy in life working on the tasks that I am checking off my list that I forget the important things.  Perhaps you find yourself in the same place - busy with little time to do what matters - like pay attention to those around us. 

One day, I will die.  And the question burning in my mind right now - and I know I will ask myself it - did my impact on this world really matter?  Did I make the biggest possible difference I could have?  Treating others indifferently leads to only one thing - more indifference - and ultimately it leads to me diminishing what is possible in the lives of others.

How do people act when they are treated with indifference?  Indifferently.  We are emotional creatures.  What is done to us, we do to others.  The opportunity is to create a different story - a story of hope, optimism, love, and difference-making.  I recently listened to Daniel Goleman's Social Intelligence audio program.  In it he talked about how emotionally contagious we are to one another with regard to how we feel and how others pick that up.  How often do I help others feel unimportant because I treat them indifferently?  I must stop this emotional virus-passing! 

Is this what I want my legacy to be?  Absolutely not.  This is the conscious part...  And opportunity...  I can consciously choose to acknowledge others and give them the attention the deserve and hope for.  I think a lot of the world is hurting from lack of love and attention. 

Recently, I received some attention while shopping at Target a woman walked by me and looked me right in the eye and smiled.  It warmed my heart.  I remember thinking, "Wow!"  I found myself a bit refreshed.  I found more energy in that moment and afterwards.  I immediately thought about paying it forward to others - to give them the love they needed.

Sounds corny, doesn't it?  But you know what?  As a 35 year old man on his journey, I will remember the feeling I received as I treated others with kindness by not ignoring them when I could have.  That's energy...  That's the power of connecting. 

One of our clients has a powerful Difference-Maker on their bus.  Her name is Maureen.  When I call, I always hope she answers the phone because the warmth is amazing.  At our zoo, they have some tortoise turtles who love to bask under heat lamps.  That's how I feel when I talk with Maureen...  Warm.  And when I see her - she greets me with a warm smile and a warm two-handed handshake.  Maureen lives the opposite of indifference.  She's a Daymaker of the best kind!  And Maureen is a very powerful spirit because of the way she helps people feel...  Question...  What would you do to have more "Maureens" as part of your Customer Experience Management Strategy?

Take a few moments to think about your Customer Experience.  Not just your organization's or your department's, but yours personally.  What does your Customer Experience feel like?  Are people treated indifferently on a routine basis by you and your team members?  Perhaps you might start out by acknowledging your team members and in turn help them feel the impact of acknowledging others.  Every Customer Service Training Program should include helping team members realize the true power of making a positive impact in the lives of others.  No exceptions.  Unfortunately, most Customer Service Training Programs focus on the "what" to do and not the "how" to do it.  The "how" is what matters most, after all...

Hey...  Can we partner to make indifference an endangered species.  One small act - repeated several times a day - by greeting and acknowledging those we meet will touch their hearts and who knows - it might even save a life.  Acknowledgement is the ultimate form of Daymaking that I can think of.  And interestingly - I am not sure whose day is made better - mine or the other person's.

Now go Maximize Possibility!

Other blog posts you may be interested in:

• Customer Service Defined by Four Little Words
• Consistency is Key to an Exceptional Customer Experience
• Bad Customer Service - What is it Costing You?
• Are Your Vendors Hurting the Customer's Experience

Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.  Bring Chris in today!

1-866-988-RAIN

Copyright 2008, Chris Young - The Rainmaker Group, Inc.