I recently came across this information about Quality and Customer Perception and wanted to share it with you. It is a privilege for you to entrust your life in the hands of us at Caring Medical. We don’t take it for granted. We put in a tremendous amount of work to get our phones to ring, the emails to come in, and ultimately for you, the patients, to walk through this door to be treated one of the best physicians out there, as well as the best team around. We know that it is not always easy for patients to come to Caring Medical because sometimes situations are difficult—for example:

Many people try to get their loved ones to see us for YEARS. Others save up for 6 months so that they can come here. Sometimes an out of state potential patient may have been talking to a team member over email for 2 months, and that person is finally able to get here. (We see many patients from all over the US and abroad).

We owe our patients great service when they get here. Some of you work very hard to get here. You may have talked to your mom in California for months about what we do here. You are passionate about her needing our services. She was doubtful, but you finally convinced her that THIS is the place! Wouldn’t you want to make sure that everything is wonderful at her visit—start to finish? Yes, you would! And we’re committed to doing that!

Quality Is All About Customers’ Perceptions

Tom Peters, Marketing Consultant says, “Like beauty and truth, quality is in the eye of the beholder, your customer. Perception is all there is…there is only one perceived reality, the way each of us chooses to perceive a communication, the value of a service, the value of a particular product feature, the quality of a product.”

Customer Expectations
Customer is defined as anyone who receives that which is produced by the individual or organization that has value. Customer expectations are continuously increasing. Brand loyalty is a thing of the past. Customers seek out products and producers that are best able to satisfy their requirements. A product does not need to be rated highest by customers on all dimensions, only on those they think are important.

Customer Satisfaction
A Critical Component of Profitability Customer Loyalty is a major contributor to sustainable growth. Superior service must become second nature of your organization.

Customer Intimacy Works
Customer intimacy starts with a commitment to deliver the best results to each customer. That’s why it works. Today’s customers refuse to be anonymous. They continue to raise the level of their requirements, but their range extends beyond best price and best product. Today’s customers want exactly the right selection of products or services that will help them get exactly the total solution they have in mind. Now, more than ever, customers hunger for superior results from the products or services they use. And customer intimacy gives it to them

Here are some examples:

Tom says,
Look at Starbucks! Starbucks stayed open a few minutes late—and got me something already put away—to fill my order. When I handed my other local Starbucks my thermos yesterday morning, they filled it up without question, even though that’s a non-standard order. (I think they under-charged me—a two ventis price for what doubtless was three ventis in quantity. Oh, and they thoroughly washed the thermos before filling it without request.)

Look at Whole Foods! My local Whole Foods opens at 8:00 a.m. Several of us were waiting. They opened at about 7:45 (15 minutes before they had to technically open!) And those folks define helpful—I got a full-bore dissertation on various cuts of beef, among other things.

When it doesn’t work: Non-verbal cues and actions are just as important as verbal cues and actions. What does it say to our customers when there are several of them waiting to be served by one cashier when other employees are present and not responding in anyway to them to ensure their experience is a good one? What are we saying (non-verbally) to our customers when in order to enter our store they must pass one or more smoking employees planted right at the one point of entry?

These are our commitments to you, our customers:

• Smile – always say please and thank you!
• Talk to the customer as if they are the only people in the world.
• Do what you say you will do. If you said you will be calling to follow-up on their treatment, call them. We promise that we will do this for all of our customers. We need to deliver.
• Walk the talk – lead by example! Look happy, healthy, energetic, and professional! Someone who looks tired, sloppy, or not happy is not who are customers travel miles to see.
• Take ownership! Know what we do – be able to answer questions.
• Keep Climbing – try to accomplish something for your patients.
• Never give up – keep looking for solutions.
• Our customers know who to call with questions – keep the communication open. Be happy to talk to them. They are people just like you. Our customers want to know us – and that means wearing your name tag every day!
• Respond immediately to the customer – pick up the phone after 1 ring; answer email the day it is received; call patients back to answer their questions today; see someone lost in the hall – ask if they need help!
• Make it a good and fun experience for the patient!

We owe awesome service to our patients and we have worked very hard to provide an Awesome Experience here at Caring Medical. We hope you feel it is the “Disney or Nordstrom experience of medicine!”