The outside of Dr. Gee’s practice. He says there are many lessons to be learned from a company that provides famously superior customer service like Ritz-Carlton.
Three low-to-no cost ways to create a winning patient experience.
By Kevin L. Gee, OD, FAAO
May 22, 2024
Patients want the same level of customer service they experience at their favorite businesses when they visit your office.
What if there was a way to go a step further and give them an experience that is even better?
When I read “The Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company,” I knew there were lessons I could apply to my practice.
Here is how my team and I took a page out of Ritz-Carlton’s book (literally) to wow our patients.
Communicate the Core Identity & Culture
I make it a point with every potential new hire to cite our mission statement during the interview:
Our mission is to provide professional and ethical judgements for our valued patients, to provide timely and efficient care, and to create a memorable experience for all who enter our doors.
I like to see the candidate’s reaction when they hear the mission statement. It sets the tone for our work environment should they be hired. I like to reiterate the mission statement again in the correspondence notifying the candidate of their hire.
I make a point of tying the decisions I make for the practice back to one of the points in our mission statement.
We now start each office meeting by randomly selecting an employee to recite the mission statement.
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The repetition helps remind our staff what we stand for. It not only helps the office staff, but the doctors as well. We lead by example and also through our words by repeatedly stating the mission statement publicly.
Doing these things hardly takes any time and requires minimal effort. What little time and effort is required will take you and your practice a long way.
Build a Business Focused on Others
This principle is powerful and works in a two-fold way.
I, as the practice owner, focus on my employees more than myself, or even the bottom-line revenue. If my people know, and feel, that they are valued, they will work harder for the practice. This, in turn, increases the bottom line.
More importantly, ensuring employees feel valued sets an example for them to do the same for patients, caring about them and ensuring that they, too, feel valued.
Let’s face it, life happens, you just don’t know what a person is going through and you have to be thankful that they come to work in spite of that.
It’s best when the person working for you sees the care you have for them, and is able to pass along that type of care to the patient. You never know how much of an impact that could make in someone’s life.
Gestures that show staff you care often take no money and require little time. It could be something as simple as listening attentively when they talk to you, asking them about their lives and how they are doing, and being as accommodating as possible when they make a request of you.
Deliver Wow!
This isn’t as difficult to do as it sounds. With so many businesses today offering subpar customer service, a little wow in your office makes a big impact.
For example, we routinely walk our patients to the door after their appointment. We call it a “fond farewell.” We thank them for coming in and bid them adieu.
This is a no-cost, minimal-effort gesture that goes miles for both courtesy as well as generating patient loyalty! As the saying goes, “it’s the little things that count.” It can be something little or you can go big.
I have conversations with patients to find out what they like, especially new patients, and then send them a gift.
For instance, I was discussing college allegiances with a patient one time. He mentioned that his small college didn’t do much with car decals and emblems like our big Texas schools, but thought it was really neat and wished he could have a decal and emblem for his school, too.
I did a little searching on the web after he left, found a decal for his school and sent it to him. It cost me $10 for true patient loyalty and the satisfaction of knowing I made a patient happy.
Kevin L. Gee, OD, FAAO, is the owner of Gee Eye Care in Missouri City, Texas. To contact him: DrGee@GeeEyeCare.com
