Please tell me that no one on your team shows indifference when dealing with your patients. Someone does? Sometimes? Is that bad? Well, yes, even one instance of indifference can cost you not only that patient, but every other patient who finds out about it as well. At the very least, you won't own those patients. Here's Ed Horrell's weekly newsletter. He talks about an incident at Starbuck's, my favorite coffee shop.
My
travel companion and I were in the Memphis airport waiting on our
flight to Key Largo. Having plenty of time, we decided to get some
coffee at Starbucks and sit for a while.
As we stood in the line at the Starbucks, we were behind an elderly
lady. As she got to the front of the line to place her order, she
noticed the tray of pastries which were displayed at the counter.
She put her finger directly on the glass protecting the pastries,
making sure there was no question as to what she was ordering, and
politely said "I'll have this sweetroll".
"We don't have sweetrolls" snapped the Starbucks waitress.
"What is this, then?" asked the lady.
"It's a Danish" replied Ms. Starbucks, in an "I'm in a real hurry" tone of voice.
I don't know if that lady bought the Danish or not, but I DO know
that Starbucks won't be getting any Danishes or anything else out of
THIS guy.
This lady was simply doing what Starbucks hopes everyone will
do....trying to buy something from them. What she got was a cup of
coffee served with a nice helping of indifference.
What difference should it have made if she had said "I'll have this
rolled up hunk of dough covered with sugar and artificial fruit
flavoring?"
The Starbucks chick was simply too busy to respond with
kindness...she opted for indifference...and lost one customer
forever. Me. I also hope the elderly lady starts getting her coffee
somewhere else.
At the Miami airport, we stopped for a cup of coffee early Sunday morning.
The Burger King coffee, located next to Starbucks, was delicious.
Watch YOUR company for signs of indifference. Replace them with
values, such as kindness, dignity, and respect...and you'll own your
customers.
Doesn't that story make you cringe for the little old lady? You've probably been treated that way somewhere before and you have to admit, it gets inside. For a fleeting moment, you accept that it has something to do with you. With the way you're dressed, the way you spoke or something else about you. After a minute you decide, "Hey it doesn't matter, they should have treated me better than that!" You feel angry for being made to feel bad about yourself, even for that split second. If you've ever shown irritation, indifference, or lack of compassion to your patients, that's the feeling they're getting, as well. I've seen it happen and felt their discomfort. Someone asks a question that sounds abrupt or sarcastic and the response isn't controlled by reason, but by emotion. You can see it on the staff member's face and you can see it on the patient's face. Watching, you may try to intercede and smooth things over, but the damage has been done. It only takes a moment to wipe out years of good communication. One person on a team that can't or won't communicate with care is one who should be aked to change and if they can't, they shouldn't be there.
Another place indifference can hurt a team is when it occurs within the team. An indifferent boss signals the team that they are just a means to an end for him/her. It says, "I don't really care about having you here, but I need a hygienist, an assistant, a receptionist, so that I can do my work. You happen to be it for the moment so get it done." Teams like that aren't happy or excited, they just exist, for now, until someone who cares comes along, That boss will own them. People stay in places like that, with people who make them feel needed and appreciated. Everyone wants to feel important and validated in their job. It's what they do every day. We should want them to love it. How about between the staff? It's terrible to see staff become indifferent to each other and the feelings of their teammates. Usually it results in cliques and backbiting. There is so much tension when this happens that all the focus rests on the interactions between the staff members and there's nothing left for the patients. They are ushered in and out like cattle so that the staff can get back to what's really on their mind; talking about each other or fighting between each other. Any way you look at it, who'd want to be a patient there? Isn't it better to have a staff that cares deeply about each other and really knows each other? Patients sense that, too, and who wouldn't want to be a patient in a place that exudes happiness and harmony?
Make your staff (and yourself) aware of Ed's story. Read it to them at your morning huddle. Have them try to scan themselves as they go through their day for feelings of indifference and have them note whether that feeling made it to the patient. The results conversation could be the making of a great staff meeting. This is the stuff that makes the difference in a practice.
By the way, I still go to Starbuck's because they make consistently great vanilla latte's, but if Ed discovers a place that make consistently great vanilla latte's and passes his kindness evaluation, I'll be switching. Starbuck's doesn't own me anymore, and they did before I read Ed's story. That's not the kind of "word of mouth" advertising any company wants. Make sure you create the kind you want for your practice.
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