customer service and nursing

Jamesdotter · Jun 30, 2008

ou might enjoy the website customerssuck.com. I learned about that one from my daughter when she was working retail.

DusktilDawn · Jul 1, 2008

Worked in a retail store many years ago. LOVED IT, but pay sucked.

Relatively few issues with rudeness and other issues compared to nursing. However, I was also dealing with people that wanted to be there and there by choice not cirucumstance.

Medic/Nurse, BSN, RN · Jul 1, 2008

Hey there nads786 -

Great question - customer service parallels retail to nursing!

One poster noted "customers" that wanted to be there (retail) vs. nursing - that may account for some of the difference.

I worked in retail as a sales "associate" (clerk) to entry management and well, as bad as some experiences were --- well, they were very limited cases of excessive abuse of the "associate". Just a few and usually involved theft - but, admittedly the culture of today (I worked 20 years ago while in college the first time) may be that the entitlement mentality of many folks may allow a bit more "abuse".

Point - the CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT. Right? Right???

No. Not in retail or in healthcare. However, the model of customer service demands that the customer be satisfied. Common sense will allow that the very issue of satisfaction may not be possible with certain patients. The problem is the amount of abuse that the nurse has to suffer in the effort to try and satisfy. Almost without limits in some systems.

Retail pays about 20K. Staff nursing averages 55K nationally. You will earn your money.

I left hospital nursing when the amount of abuse and disrespect became more than I could tolerate at ANY price. I never imagined the extremes that nurses are subjected to in the effort to make customers happy. I pray that I never have to provide direct hospital care of patients ever again.

IMHO - simply unbearable. I was disrespected almost hourly, verbally abused (patients, visitors, families, doctors and other nurses), physically assaulted several times and threatened in a criminal manner ("I will wait outside and cut you in pieces" --- this by a psych patient that had served jail time for stabbing a man. The hospital and I came to war over their insistence that I not even report this to the police. Insane.).

I know that there is little care of nurses by the healthCARE system.

Now and then...

I am not too interested in happy.

I am real interested in saving your life, easing your true despair/suffering and providing as much comfort as possible.

I am for customers being customers - and patients being patients. If the system does not correct the problems, patients will not have anyone to care for them soon enough --- that some may just die before they will get to complain about the food, pain medications, visiting hours and the lack of butt kissing.

Go in aware. Nursing may not be the career that you think it is - yes, it pays better. But, you may be treated worse than you ever dreamed possible. Nurses are fleeing bedside care in droves - shortages of experienced nurses put many "customers" at risk of being far less than satisfied.

Good Luck!

Practice SAFE!!

Kiringat · Jul 1, 2008

I'm working as a unit clerk until I pass the NCLEX, and lets just say that its depressingly similar to the retail jobs I've had in the past. Granted, it is a glorified secretary position, so no suprise there.

But serioiusly, a large amount of the time, the floor in general looks like the store I worked in for 4 years. I really should have kept my old store name badge.

People being pushy and rude, expecting to be handed everything on a silver platter. The same people think getting ****** off and abusive is going to get you to bend over backwards to them. Knowledgable, capable people (the nurses) getting treated like crap because people can get away with it. Horrible management. And the phones. You'd thing they'd be set to ring a bit quieter in a freaking hospital

I could go on....

If I have to choose between being a staff floor nurse and working retail... I think I'd almost go with the retail. Sure, the pay sucks and there's no future in it, but I won't have to worry about getting sued or killing someone while I'm being yelled at.

But I really love nursing, when I was able to actually be a nurse in clinicals, instead of a "Customer Service Associate".

nads786 · Jul 1, 2008

a lil backround on me, i just finished my first year of nursing skool and am lukewarm about my experience

i have alot of experience working in retail while in highschool as well as college

so i wanted to compare my experiences there to being a nurse and was wondering if i could handle the "crap" nurses have to put up with as compared to the retail environment

When i worked retail I could deal with alot of it, but i was working part time and i didnt care for the job, on top of it, i use to get internally annoyed quite often when i had to deal with rude/cheap/annoying customers who felt entitled

country mom · Jul 1, 2008

One of my first paying jobs was as a clerk in a shoe store that specialized in men's work boots- lots of smelly feet. Actually I found it was good preparation for nursing, both in terms of smells and dealing with customers. I was the young high school "punk" and I worked with two older ladies. One was "Debbie", who was sweet and kind and especially nice to old people. I loved being around Debbie, she always had something encouraging to say to me. "Debbie" had alot going on at home- 3 kids and her husband was laid off from work, she tried to keep everything in control while supporting her family on a store clerk's pay, but it didn't keep her from being kind. The other one was "Vera", she complained constantly about the customers, complained about the boss, complained about how much better her friends who worked at other places had it- better pay, better conditions, yada yada yada. "Vera" was a pain. Then I went to work in a hospital and guess what, there were "Debbies" and "Veras" everywhere! I think our experiences with people have more to do with our own attitudes than with what the people themselves are like. Whether you're in a shoe store or a hospital unit, you decide for yourself what your outlook will be. You can be a "Debbie" or a "Vera", it's up to you.

"Two men looked out through prison bars. One saw mud, the other, stars."

(Quote by ?????)

mpccrn, BSN, RN · Jul 1, 2008

i NEVER agreed with the concept of my patients being my customers....the concept is absurd and obviously a marketing tool created by people that haven't spent a minute at the bedside and have no clue what that entails. patients are NOT my customers.....never will be.......i'm not there to make them happy or respond to their every whim...... my job is to make them better, improve their condition, prevent further complications and educate them in managing their disease process in the most compassionate way possible. icu's are a tough place to be, no one would WANT to be a patient there willingly......if this is accomplished, my service to them is of the highest quality humanly possible...enough said. :wink2:

RNperdiem, RN · Jul 1, 2008

When I applied for a retail job as a teenager, I was interviewed by the store manager.

She asked me how I saw my role.

I told her that I saw myself helping customers find what they need and ringing up sales.

She looked me in the eye and said my job was to sell. Selling merchandise was the first and highest priority. Higher than helping. I was naive and had not thought that way.

Luckily I did not get the job.

In nursing, I am not trying to increase anyone's bill-"would you like a Xanax with that?" I'm not trying to sell anything or move merchandise.

Hopefully the increasing trend towards customer service and the financial bottom line will not try to turn nurses into salespeople.