Customers are going to Complain

Here’s a straight to the point article about how to handle a customer complaint.  This would be a great article to share with your staff at your next staff meeting.  You may think this should be common knowledge, but clearly outlining how you would like to handle certain situations can save yourself some headaches and hopefully help retain patients.  You could even role play past customer complaints to explore the best ways to respond in the future.

Make a customer mad and they’ll tell 10 people!  Make one happy and they just might refer a friend.

It cheaper and easier to retain the patients you already have than it is to get new ones.  I’m not saying we shouldn't try to get new patients, but our current patients should definitely be a priority.

This article gives a little five step program but I want to add one more to the beginning:

1. Don’t get defensive – It’s pretty natural for us to take pride in our practice, but being defensive does not help when it comes to dealing with a customer.  EVEN IF THEY ARE WRONG don’t get defensive.

2. Listen & Understand – “First, always listen to the customer. They are concerned about an aspect of your services. Let go of the temptation to respond in any quick fashion. Take the time to listen and truly understand what is driving their concern.”

3. Empathize – Put yourself in their shoes and bond with the customer.  Let them feel that you understand and that you want to help them

4. Offer a solution – Always focus on what you CAN do for them as opposed to what you can’t.  It might not be exactly what they are asking for, but staying away from “No” will always help.

5. Execute – You’ve done the hard part, but if you don’t do what you say the next storm will be twice as bad.

6. Follow up – Send them an apology card or call them and ask them if they are satisfied.  Extend an extra peace offering and they might just remember you for bending over backwards rather than the original complaint that they had.  

Staff Meetings

Prima EyeGroup puts out a weekly blog and Staff Meetings 101 is where the meat and potatoes of this post comes from.

Weekly Meetings, Biweekly Meetings, Monthly Meetings, Daily 5 minute tune ups        
You can be different, but you should have some sort of office meeting.

Decide when and how often you want to have meetings.  Check out your long range and block off the time for the rest of the year on the decided days.  Committing yourself to these meetings is the biggest part of the battle.

Don’t worry about losing revenue because improving your staff and the operations of your office will result in happier customers which will equal more $/Patients, more Wowing and more referrals.   

Hold the meeting during office hours but designate someone to handle phone calls and foot traffic.

Why should I have office meetings?
To improve communication, Provide leadership, improve office culture, educate staff, provide better customer service, have better attitudes and get more enjoyment out of work.

How do I start?

Jot down notes about the good and the bad in your office.  Write down specific instances where your office really shined and where they might have dropped the ball a little.  Also think about asking your office manager to do the same. 

    - Focus on the positive and tell them what they are doing a good job at.  They will listen to more of what you have to say if most of the feedback is issued in a positive tone. 

    - Don’t single people out during meetings.  Bring up office problems and have “Blameless Autopsies” Good to Great

    - Let others talk.  Encourage questions.  Ask questions that promote interaction. Role Play. Invite office members to speak about certain situations. 

Ideas for meetings.

    - Customer service issues

    - Office Procedures

    - Provide Staff training

    - Present new products such as contacts and lens designs

    - Review patient feedback (try not to single anyone out)

    - Brainstorm new ways to grow the practice and improve word of mouth referrals from patients

    - Ask employees to describe something they have noticed that makes patients unhappy. Overcoming that problem is a great topic for the next meeting

    - Do a SWOT analysis or have your staff do a SWOT analysis of your practice

If you are not having staff meetings you are not investing time and effort into your people and they are not performing or striving to perform at the highest level.