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Welcoming feedback I might have approached that situation differently if I had been seeking feedback from my photography subjects. Feedback is important if not always pleasant. Accepting negative feedback was difficult at first, but I eventually learned to view it as something that could be used constructively and not as a personal attack. When I was new to the dental hygiene profession, it never entered my mind to ask the patient how they felt about the last appointment. When I eventually started asking, it surprised me when one patient replied, “It hurt like hell.” This was unsettling to me as I could usually read a person pretty well and had not noticed this patient was in pain. From then on I’ve actively encouraged feedback before, during, and after each appointment. Since I started welcoming feedback of all kinds, I’ve come to realize that a person who complains about the service — chronic complainers aside — is asking you to correct a problem, and doing so might ensure he or she remains a patient. Once I understood this, my view of negative feedback went from seeing it as something to be avoided at all costs, to recognizing it as a necessary and valuable reality. reacting to complaints
So how should we react to patient complaints? The book Outrageous!: Unforgettable Service... Guilt-Free Selling by T. Scott Gross outlines “four steps to service recovery.” The steps are: * Establish rapport * Discover the problem * Offer a complete solution * Cement the relationship These steps involve letting your patients know you are on their side, having them describe their problems, asking them what they think is a fair solution and letting them know what will be done to prevent a reoccurrence. As a consumer, when I’m asked what I think will solve a problem, I feel I’m being treated fairly and with concern. In his book, Gross states customers usually want less than you expect, and those who had a problem that was resolved successfully are more loyal than customers who have never had a problem. critical incidents
In the case of customer service, the old adage, “no news is good news” does not always apply. Accepting this statement leads to the belief that all is fine, but even when all appears to going well, it is advisable to solicit feedback. In Best Practices in Customer Service by Ron Zemke and John A. Woods the authors point out that many offices place more focus on obtaining new patients than on retaining current ones. While we often think of ourselves strictly as healthcare providers, dentistry is, after all, a business, and being aware of the business side of patient care is essential to success. Looking at what the corporate world has to say about customer service can be beneficial to dental hygienists. One common strategy is the use of critical incident reports. A “critical incident” is defined as anything not in line with a patient’s expectations. We tend to think of critical as a negative term, but it also means “to be perceptive or discerning,” and critical incidents include more than just negative experiences. If a staff member goes out of his or her way to help a patient find a favorite product at a drug store, that is a critical incident. The reports usually take the form of questionnaires with open-ended questions that encourage honest input. They can be mailed or handed to patients at the conclusion of a visit, and can be used every time something is done that does not align with what a patient might normally expect. avoiding ripple effects Memories of these incidents impact the future behavior of the consumer and will be shared via word-of-mouth. Since it is estimated that for every complaint there are twenty-six others who feel the same way, and that each of those people will tell ten others of their experience, if unaddressed this ripple effect from negative incidents can lead to the decline of a practice or a dip in new patient referrals. Seeking feedback gives you the opportunity to correct problems quickly and to expand upon the things that you are already doing well. By understanding how your patients feel, you can align your efforts to provide the best possible care. So as you can see, when I think of customer service I no longer think of the sign in the department store. Customer service is about trust and respect, not about exchanging a toaster for an electric toothbrush. It is about pride and concern, not about canceling an order. It is not about having an express lane to get you home sooner, but it is about improving the quality of life. The principles of good customer service mirror those of human relationships. All of us, no matter our job title, carry the subtitle of customer service provider.
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