Dooley Noted: 8/19/2015
For 13 years, I ran an independent business as a mystery shopper.
I wanted to have a flexible schedule and make a good income.
I did those things.
But what I learned shaped the way I offered service to my patients and students.
I learned that quality customer service doesn’t just promote a product.
It can promote human character.
James, the barista at my local Starbucks, doesn’t just know my name. He knows my drink. He sees thousands of people per week, but he made an effort to learn the ways of his consistent customers.
And that fact alone keeps me going to the exact same Starbucks – even though there is one on every NYC corner.
Customer service in healthcare is a little trickier – especially if you are an unorthodox practitioner (me) in an already unorthodox segment of the medical field (chiropractic, acupuncture, movement analysis).
The key to offering excellent service in healthcare is to show you don’t pose a threat to your colleagues.
James knows how to make his consistent customers even more consistent.
The same can be done in healthcare with patients.
But I also see that James’s colleagues high-five him when he walks in for a shift. He makes the other employees glad he is there, and I watch him bend over backwards to make sure they have what they need.
This is the symbiotic nature that needs to exist in healthcare.
I receive daily referrals from other medical professionals – even other people certified in my techniques, including chiropractic.
The chiropractic office upstairs even refers to me!
And you better believe I refer to them, as well as other colleagues.
There is no war to be had. There are enough patients for everyone to help. We can even help the SAME PEOPLE.
What the chiropractors upstairs – and the rest of my colleagues – know is that I am only out to fortify what they already do.
I am a catalyst – an enhancement of their efforts.
If we spend more time being symbiotic in healthcare, then the outcomes for our patients inherently improve.
Collaboration enhances patient care.
Today, look around you.
Study what works about the coffee shop you always enter. Emulate it at work.
And if you work in healthcare, think of how you can better collaborate with your colleagues to improve your service to your patients.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley
NOTE: Below is a letter I received last night from a patient that was referred to me by another chiropractor. The doctor also received a letter of thanks for the referral. Everybody wins – especially the patient.
“Hi Dr. Dooley,
I can’t even begin to put into words how much I appreciate all of your help this summer and I know for a fact that I wouldn’t be where I am today without all of your assistance. You are by far the best doctor I have ever worked with and I thoroughly enjoyed each and every appointment I had with you. I rave about you to everyone and anyone that asks me about how my summer went! For the first time I was actually interested in what was going on and actually wanted to learn more about the body. If I wasn’t afraid of needles, blood and just about everything else that is necessary in becoming a doctor I would consider a different major / career path. Everything that I learned from you in such a short amount of time will definitely stick with me for the rest of my life and will always be useful.”