A gas station isn’t the same as a long-term care facility. I’m well aware of that. For one thing, we don’t post our rates on a big sign out at the street, and our admissions directors don’t run out front whenever a vehicle carrying a potential resident drives over a little hose with a bell at the end. Though with census so low, maybe they should.
(Do gas stations even have those little bells anymore? I have no idea.)
Another difference that comes to mind: I’ve never seen an attendant get written up for letting the fuel spout touch the rim of the gas tank — unlike long-term care, where you’re going to prison if a pitcher touches a water glass.
But that’s not the reason we’re here, which is to tell you about a gas station I love.
It’s nowhere near the cheapest — by at least 50 cents a gallon. It’s certainly not the most convenient — by several miles. But I keep going there for one reason only — because I love the staff and the way they treat me.
Since I live in Oregon, where we’re forbidden by law from pumping our own, I get plenty of quality time to appreciate them.
One guy tells bad dad jokes, as if there’s any other kind. Another always wants to wash my windshield, and stands there pleadingly like the Statue of Liberty with an outstretched squeegee until I finally nod my assent. Today, and this is absolutely true, a new attendant came to my window as the tank filled and asked if he could throw out any car garbage for me. I was embarassed he thought it was necessary, but still grateful.
It can’t be a picnic for them, doing such often mindless tasks day and night in bad weather for all kinds of people. But they’re always cheerful, chatty and positive — with no exceptions as far as I can tell. That tells me it’s no accident. That tells me it’s part of the culture, and it undoubtedly starts with the leadership.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall at their gas station staff meetings and discover the secret to the customer service utopia that’s been created. Many long-term care administrators know how to foster that kind of environment already, but I might just have to drive the rest of them over to my gas station to observe and somehow assimilate their methods for motivating and inspiring.
Because somehow they’ve got it down — in every interaction, for every customer. And I’ll keep paying more for that kind of care — every time.
From the January/February 2023 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
