Several weeks ago, I showed up early at the hospital on my “day off” for some paperwork.
I first noticed that the rest of the hospital also seemed to be closed when operating hours had already started. All of the exam room doors were closed, lights were off, no one was at the front desk and a pile of trash in front of the counter.
I was a little upset. I imagined clients, both potential and current, walking the other way so I went about picking up trash, opening exam rooms and turning on the lights. My receptionist walked out of the treatment room a moment later and greeted me enthusiastically while helping me finish opening everything up. She also explained that a team member had called in sick, which was why she had to go in the back to help secure a Pet and could not set up shop right away. She assured me she had only been gone for a few moments.
Before I left the store, I gathered the team to discuss the situation in order to avoid this from happening in the future. We discussed how my team did not prioritize the hospital’s appearance with the rest of their duties, and while much of the reason was that the team was distracted with other morning tasks, we all knew that we could do better.
We discussed the importance of first impressions, consistency, friendliness and overall exceptional service. Everyone understood that we needed to put certain protocols in place to prevent this from happening in the future. Amongst other things, we decided that, as a team, we should walk around the counter to make sure the hospital front looks clean. Because whether we’re seeing a new or an established client, saying “I’m so sorry about the mess” with an excuse just doesn’t cut it. While an established client might still continue to come to our hospital because we have solidified a positive first impression and they know that this situation is not typical, a new client’s first impression would most definitely be a negative one.
As I departed my hospital a few minutes later, I felt much better. Not only did I make sure to prevent a problem that is easy to fix, but I effectively communicated the needs of my hospital to the rest of the team. While I had not expected the need to communicate something that I thought was so simple to the rest of my team, I took this as a good learning opportunity on interacting with my team as well as stressing the importance of first impressions to clients.
yeah i worked at an animal hospital where appearance was more important than care. causes alot of stress and low morale among the employees
January 19th, 2010 at 11:16 amHopefully both reception areas and focused care can be equally important – imperative – in a trustworthy practice.
As a pet owner, my empirical experience has been that the best care came from the small, single or limited practices. The large ones are very sleek, well-oiled machines, but behind the doors – I’ve been not only disappointed but appalled by the lack of focus and disjointed interaction among the DVMs.
January 22nd, 2010 at 7:22 pmThanks so much for the comments! Those are great points. We try to get the team to focus on first impressions, overrall friendliness, consistency, and trying to deliver an exceptional client experience. Patient care needs to be the number one priority for every pet, every time.
February 1st, 2010 at 7:04 pm