Infinite call-center wait times. Delivery mix-ups and delays. Rude responses to reasonable requests. Promises unfulfilled. I hear there’s a cutting-edge business principle called “the customer is always right,” but in the world I live in, that nugget of wisdom doesn’t seem to be trickling down to the frontline staff.
We expect so little in customer service these days, that even when someone delivers the bare minimum of what we need with a modicum of civility, it feels like they should be voted “Employee of the Century.” And in long-term care, that’s what your marketing consultant might call an “opportunity.”
Here’s why this is on my mind — it’s because of my bed sheets, the rather pricey linen ones I purchased from a certain trendy online purveyor. When they arrived, I recall thinking they seemed a tad thin, like a loose scrap of parchment from the floor of a Dead Sea cave. But since they came so highly reviewed and recommended, I suspended judgment.
Until recently, that is, when several small holes suddenly appeared, then proceeded to grow on a nightly basis at the speed of highly suspicious moles. When I finally pulled back the covers for a more thorough inspection, it was like a map of the lunar surface, with one gaping crater the size of the Sea of Tranquility.
Let me be clear: I live alone. I do not sleep with a sharp-clawed pet. I can’t jump on the mattress without hitting my head on the ceiling. I almost never sharpen knives or repair my chainsaw in bed. The damage I’m describing occurred in the normal process of being a semi-normal human, crawling between the sheets and simply sleeping.
In those or similar words, that’s what I communicated in the chat box on the company’s web site, expecting to be directed by a faceless robot to visit a useless Frequently Asked Questions page. But an actual person responded almost instantly to my message. A cheerful, helpful person. A person who expressed what appeared to be genuine dismay at my misfortune, and wanted to help.
I had emotionally prepared myself to argue, present evidence and close the customer service chat box angrily without resolution. But within moments, replacement sheets were headed my direction, no questions asked, even though I was months passed the stated Quality Guarantee. The whole process took five minutes or less. I nearly cried in shock and gratefulness, and will henceforth be an avid, lifelong advocate for this particular brand.
With anxieties high and the bar of expectations set so low in all other aspects of our day-to-day existence, this is a golden opportunity for long-term care facility staff to truly shine. You won’t even have to do anything particularly momentous or special. Just stay attentive to the details, keep your promises, show you actually care, and provide an unexpected oasis of timely responsiveness in every situation, from important to petty. You’ll probably be hailed as a customer service hero, and have a champion for life.
Things I Think is written by Gary Tetz, a two-time national Silver Medalist and three-time regional Gold and Silver Medal winner in the Association of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) awards program, as well as an Award of Excellence honoree in the APEX Awards. He’s been amusing, inspiring, informing and sometimes befuddling long-term care readers worldwide since the end of a previous century. He is a writer and video producer for Consonus Healthcare Services in Portland, OR.
The opinions expressed in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News guest submissions are the author’s and are not necessarily those of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News or its editors.
