The Art of Giving Good Service

Intro:

Personal experiences in Robinsons, Citi Hardware & Bishop

How many of you here have experienced an exceptional customer service experience and over a
top experience in a business. Maybe a local restaurant, a clothing retailer, your favorite coffee shop.
Or maybe that last hotel or resort you have been into or you have stayed at. So exceptional that you
might have taken a selfie and posted it in social media with a caption, “I WAS SEDUCED BY
EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE” or “CUSTOMER SERVICE AT ITS BEST!” I know no one here takes
selfie or posts on social media. Oh well I do. Like me all of us experience excellent customer service
that turns us from a casual consumer to a loyal brand ambassador! Right?

Roughly almost one million businesses in the entire world be it in food servicing, health care, beauty
care, any businesses close or even file for bankruptcy every year. Why? Is it because of the tough
competitions in the market? Is it because of other businesses’ more aggressive programs, promos
etc. etc.? Or is it just the competitors are just much better in their marketing and sales technique?
Probably yes. Or all these are just excuses and the real answer lies in delivering exceptional customer
service experience each and every day?

Service is one of the key ingredients in not just creating but in sustaining a successful business. The
responsiveness, demeanor and interpersonal skills of the staff is the primary reason people come
back or never return at all.

A simple smile or caring word maybe a routine part of your day, but those gentle acts may be life
changing for the recipient who looks to you for strength, support and care. People promote such
business for many reasons; the people working there care about them as customers and as
individuals. You are arguably the most important member of the organization you are representing
for and guests and patients respond to what you believe in and how you act and represent yourself.

The image or perception of almost any business you have a relationship with is defined by the
person who is standing in front of you, or who you are talking to, at that that time. Like if the patient
has issues about his intravenous fluid, the patient is usually mad at the nurse on duty and maybe
escalated to the head nurse, worst to worst to the chief nurse. And that’s it. Not to the president of
the company. If patients get an ineffective care, no matter how big and well-known the hospital is,
your relationship and your perception of that hospital is being formed by how you are being treated
by the person in front of you. The person becomes the face of the company.

Good customer service, is defined as how someone working in a business interacts with its
customers, might be the most important part of a company’s business plan, yet no matter how
 strong the people who own and operate the company feel about giving good service, the ultimate
image of the company- and eventually its success- is determined by how the person who delivers
the service on a day-to-day basis feels about the customer and treats him during the course of his
stay.
STORY ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE IN SOME HOSPITALS!

Remember this. Our customers or our patients may forget what we said, what we did to them, but
they may never forget how we made them feel when they were under our care. That is a product
of excellent customer service. Unsa diay ang dapat makit-an sa atong mga customers sa atong
serbisyo?

Elements of Excellent Quality Health Care h Service:

1. Effectiveness
2. Safety
3. People-centeredness
4. Timeliness
5. Equity
6. Integration
7. Efficiency

Consider Fatima, an 80-year-old woman who has lived alone, since retiring 15 years ago. She has
long-standing type 2 diabetes mellitus, as well as hypercholesterolemia and essential hypertension.
She generally stays indoors and takes only occasional walks due to her poor eyesight and recently-
developed back pain. Over the past two years, she has twice been admitted to hospital for
congestive cardiac failure. She does not monitor her blood pressure or blood glucose as advised,
eats convenience foods, and has missed multiple follow-up appointments since her discharge.
Today, Fatima has come to the clinic complaining that she is out-of-breath, that her chest feels
unusually tight, that she has trouble lying flat. She has has also mentioned having difficulty keeping
track of her monthly bills. The attending nurse notices that Fatima repeats herself and has trouble
finding the right words to describe her symptoms. Over the course of the next four weeks, Fatima
will receive care from a myriad of health providers, including a dietician, primary care provider,
cardiologist and social worker. The following points illustrate what high-quality health care for
Fatima might look like through the lens of the seven elements of quality.

 High-quality care for Fatima is effective, thus, it would be offered based on scientific knowledge and
evidence-based guidelines. The care team would adhere to clinical pathways for older patients with
heart failure and significant comorbidities, developed from evidence and experience in managing
similar cases. The team would reassure Fatima that she would be receiving evidence based care and
 that a systematic process would be followed to arrive at an integrated management plan across the
various providers taking care of her

 High-quality care for Fatima is safe, that is, it minimizes harm, including preventable injuries and
medical errors, to the patient. In every facility, there would be clear guidelines to prevent hospital-
acquired infections and medical errors. For example, a thorough review of her outpatient
medications at admission was made to prevent interactions with medications used during her
inpatient care
 High-quality care for Fatima is people-centred, that is, it respects and responds to her preferences,
needs and values. Fatima might understandably be worried and ask many questions. The
multidisciplinary care team would listen to her questions and concerns, answering patiently, and
codevelop the care management plan with her active involvement.

 High-quality care for Fatima is timely, that is, it would keep delays in providing and receiving services
to a minimum. For example, contact with each provider involved in her care would be managed by
an efficient patient flow system for scheduling or modifying visits and for notifying clients of
projected waiting times. Situations requiring urgent intervention would be recognized and acted on
as quickly as possible. With proper planning, Fatima would not have to experience long waiting
times during follow-up visits.

 High-quality care for Fatima is equitable, thus, the quality of care she receives would not vary
according to personal characteristics such as gender, race, ethnicity, geographical location and
socioeconomic status. The services received by Fatima would reflect evidence on the potential
health benefits of the treatment only, and nothing else.

 High-quality care for Fatima is integrated, thus, the care she receives across facilities and providers
would be coordinated. Post-discharge, the social worker would evaluate options to support her care
plan, and connect her with agencies that offer related care and other services as needed.

 High-quality care for Fatima is efficient, and therefore avoids waste of resources, including
equipment, medicines, energy and ideas. Her care would be provided by a cohesive team, each
working to their strengths and taking on tasks that match their competencies.

In summary, high-quality health care is the right care, at the right time, in a coordinated way,
responding to the service users’ needs and preferences, while minimizing harm and resource waste.
High-quality health care ultimately aims at increasing the probability of desired health outcomes.
The quest for high-quality health care recognizes that such improvement is a continuous or dynamic
rather than a static process. Regardless of the income level of a country, if there is room for
improving health outcomes, the quality of care can also be increased.
 The goal is
1. We as health care providers should participate in quality measurement and improvement of our
patients.

2. Embrace a practice philosophy of teamwork

3. See patients as partners in the delivery of care

4. Commit ourselves to demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of the care.

While no single nurse or doctor or staff, or anyone involved in this institution will be able to effect
all these changes, an integrated approach whereby different workers will work together to achieve
their part will have a demonstrable effect on the quality of health care services in this institution.

High-quality health services involve the right care, at the right time, responding to the service users’
needs and preferences, while minimizing harm and resource waste. Quality health care increases
the likelihood of desired health outcomes and is consistent with seven measurable characteristics:
effectiveness, safety, people-centredness, timeliness, equity, integration of care and efficiency.
(idea: imagine family members nimo ang patients nimo? How will you treat them?)

Happy customers treated well will resonate how good our business is. Remember we cannot talk to
all the people in Panabo city and its neighboring places that Somoso General hospital is the answer
to their problems, but our customers can. Let us do the caring, the smiling the excellent customer
service, and let our customers do the preaching.