 In
Your Best Interest
A
diversified medical group suffered from a common procedure
that frustrated patients, doctors and laboratory technicians
every day.
First, doctors sent their patients to the laboratory
for tests. After the tests, patients asked the laboratory
technicians for results.
When technicians shared the test results, patients often
got upset. When patients got upset, doctors got upset.
Doctors preferred to explain test results to their patients
personally and offer next steps for treatment.
But if technicians did not give patients their test
results immediately, patients complained that information
was being withheld and claimed the laboratory technicians
were unhelpful.
The situation was clearly lose-lose-lose: patients,
doctors and laboratory technicians – everyone
got upset.
(Does this ever happen in your organization? Do your
customers ever become frustrated, angry or confused?
Do your staff get upset when your customers are upset?
Does your brand image suffer, too? Are there ‘lose-lose-lose’
situations lurking in your business?)
The medical group asked me for help. I diagnosed the
situation as a case of ‘unmanaged customer expectations’.
If you were a patient, wouldn’t you want to know
your test results right away?
If you were a doctor, wouldn’t you be upset if
your patient knew the results before you did? If you
were a technician, wouldn’t you feel caught in
the middle?
We solved this problem with a simple but powerful system
called ‘In Your Best Interest’.
When doctors order lab tests, they use a printed checklist
to indicate which procedures are required. At the top
of the checklist, in bold letters, is now printed this
statement:
‘IN YOUR BEST INTEREST, all laboratory results
will be sent to your doctor who will explain them
to you personally and discuss the most appropriate
treatment.’
Many doctors now read this statement to their patients.
Many patients read the statement themselves. Most patients
understand the message, but many are so nervous about
their upcoming tests, they don’t pay attention.
In the waiting room of the laboratory, a large poster
now hangs on the wall. In bold letters the poster reads:
‘IN YOUR BEST INTEREST, all laboratory results
will be sent to your doctor who will explain them
to you personally and discuss the most appropriate
treatment.’
All patients can see the sign, and many understand the
message. But some are so anxious about their upcoming
tests, they still don’t pay attention.
After the tests are done, a small percentage of patients
still ask laboratory technicians for an immediate
explanation of the results. For those few, the lab technicians
have been trained to say one simple sentence in a compassionate
and caring manner:
‘IN YOUR BEST INTEREST, all laboratory results
will be sent to your doctor who will explain them
to you personally and discuss the most appropriate
treatment.’
By this time, everyone pays attention. Patients wait
to see their doctors. Doctors can fully inform their
patients. And laboratory technicians can do their job
compassionately without getting caught in the middle.
That’s a ‘win-win-win’ for everyone.
Key Learning
Point
Customers may become
confused or frustrated by your policies and procedures.
This is especially common in large organizations. But
it’s not productive to blame your customers or your
colleagues – that only makes things worse.
What is effective is to resolve the situation
permanently by improving the clarity and consistency of
your communications.
Action
Steps
Find a point of friction
where your customers or colleagues get upset. Choose a
tension point that has persisted for many months. Do people
complain about your applications and procedures? Are your
policies hard to understand? Is your guarantee confusing?
Have your systems grown slowly out-of-date?
There may be good reasons why your policies and procedures
were created. But the explanation may be missing today
or the reason may no longer apply. In either case, you
can improve the situation dramatically by enhancing your
communications, streamlining the procedure or changing
the policy itself.
It makes good sense to fix whatever you can, whenever
you can. After all, ‘win-win-win’ is also
in your best interest.
Next Article in Customer Service Education >>
A Well-Informed Customer is a Better Customer
First Article in Customer Service Guarantees >>
Are You Pulling in the Same Direction?
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Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed customer service training educator for quality service.
He is author of the bestselling series "UP Your Service!" and founder of
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