Customer Service?

banditrn · Oct 12, 2006

Yep, the hospital that I worked for got heavily into the 'customer service' thing, which was based on the Disneyland model.

They paid LARGE bucks for each employee to attend multiple classes - they advertise on radio and in the papers, etc.

Did they add any extra staff to effect all the extra 'customer service'? Nope!!

We had family members come in who thought that we should be doing THEIR bidding. We had patients who felt that staff should pay for their scripts because they 'forgot' their $2 co-pay. And on and on.

Any and all complaints from the 'customer' were treated as valid, even when they were just crap.

Yes, I always treated my patients and family with respect, but I demanded that they treat me well, too, and would not tolerate being abused. I also felt that some of my co-workers needed some lessons on how to deal with people, but I always felt that it was their personal problem and should have been dealt with in that way.

southern_rn_brat · Oct 12, 2006

I am sooooooo sick of hearing about customer service!!!! :uhoh3:

What ever happened to taking care of the patient and doing what was best for him???

Who are we taking care of...the patient or the family members??:angryfire

I work in a rehab/nursing home. It's a joke among the staff that we should change our name to The Spa. That's what the patients and family members act like it is. and when we dont serve them fast enough or give them what they want, they complain.

Just once, just once I would love to hear the administrator say "I'm sorry the staff didnt get your popcorn popped immediately but patient care has to come first"

instead what I hear is "next time you get that popcorn popped IMMEDIATELY!!" :uhoh3:

No, I dont have a vase to put your flowers in..bring one from home next time. No, I dont have crayons to keep your kid occupied..this is not Wal Mart. No, I dont have time to paint your mom's toenails.

and another thing...coming to the nursing desk and blessing out the staff is NOT going to get you faster care...then we are just going to fight amongst ourselves who has to "go in there this time".

oh, and Mr. I was riding my bike too fast and ripped my member almost off in the wreck? YEAH, it's gonna hurt when we do the dressing changes..go figure. Next time, drive slower. oh and while we are at it...NO, I wont stop your girlfriend from going in your room when your wife is visiting!

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Oct 12, 2006

Just once, just once I would love to hear the administrator say "I'm sorry the staff didn't get your popcorn popped immediately but patient care has to come first"
instead what I hear is "next time you get that popcorn popped IMMEDIATELY!!"

Exactly.

Nevermind we had pt. gowns (at the time) that were so thin and so worn out that you could read fine print through them (and yes we complained, in writing, in person, repeatedly), but, hey, our ASU got little TVs with cable for every pt. room a YEAR before we got new pt. gowns, because a pt. complained that they were "bored" (actual quote) while waiting for their surgery. Staff complains repeatedly about thin gowns, raggedy blankets with holes, stained sheets, nothing got done (till the local news got ahold of it), yet one, literally ONE pt. complains that there's not TV, boom, we have TVs with cable for every pt. In the name of 'customer service'.

brendamyheart · Oct 12, 2006

:yelclap: :yelclap:

I will totally disagree with you on that one.
This is how I look at my health insurance card: It's like a charge card and I can take my business anywhere I want to. Hospitals and health care centers are not doing me the favor by treating me, I am doing them the favor by selecting their institution or practice.
If the doctor is inflexible, the staff is rude, and the nurses won't return my phone calls when I have a question, then I go elsewhere.
Anytime I have had insurance I have had more than one group to select from for hospital care. In Charlotte it was definiately Presbyterian Hospital, because they have a reputation of treating the WHOLE patient, not just the disease. That is where I have sought treatment and have never been disappointed. Everytime I needed anything, the nurses were right there immediately.
The Nurses that work for them must be willing to do anything for the patient. If they are not willing to go by the philosophy, then they are let go very quickly. However, they treat their staff extremely well in return.
That is why, when I graduate, they will be my employer of choice.
Added Note: I totally agree with Angie's post.

SaraO'Hara · Oct 12, 2006

We just had a "Special CNA meeting" with the DON yesterday. She wants us to "cultivate a 'culture of customer service.'" She then went on to tell us that she's sorry we're short-staffed, getting uneven assignments (eg one CNA having a breezy set of mostly independent pts, while another runs off her feet trying to get 8 total cares dressed & tidy in the space of 2 hours), but she's not going to do anything about it... It seems the aides with easier runs are supposed to take some of the load from those with heavy runs.

I'm sorry, but how on -earth- can one get done everything administration wants when there are not enough staff, supplies, linens, etc? Why can't they fix what's wrong first?

Plagueis · Oct 13, 2006

I think "customer service" is a load of crap.
I think it's BS to equate pt. care with 'customer service'. If i'm a pt. (and for the pt.) i expect better care than i'd get standing in line at the local dept. store returns desk which has, what a coinkydink, the words "customer service" above it, which is why the phrase "customer service" being the latest slang in healthcare royally ticks me off. It is not the same deal.
Quite honestly, i think the phrase "customer service" dumbs down the importance of pt. care. The hospital is not the local Wal-Mart.

:yeahthat:

banditrn · Oct 13, 2006

We had a 'customer service' meeting recently at our LTCF. It seems that they want anyone that comes into the building to be offered coffee, tea, etc. Well, sounds nice, but who's going to do that? We don't have a receptionist - it's going to be the nurse and the CNA's who are already running their fool heads off!

I feel like the admin should station herself by the door with a pot of coffee and a pitcher of tea. :rolleyes:

RunningWithScissors · Oct 13, 2006

A local hospital recently remodeled and have mostly all private rooms.

There is a billboard leading into town saying "It's like a hotel, only with doctors and nurses".

Our hospital, to keep up, offers cash incentives and gift cards (up to $100) to patients/visitors who complain.

Yesterday I was verbally accosted by a patient (who was having a non-q wave MI) for taking blood AGAIN for a troponin.

I want a gift card!!!!

banditrn · Oct 17, 2006

A local hospital recently remodeled and have mostly all private rooms.
There is a billboard leading into town saying "It's like a hotel, only with doctors and nurses".
Our hospital, to keep up, offers cash incentives and gift cards (up to $100) to patients/visitors who complain.
Yesterday I was verbally accosted by a patient (who was having a non-q wave MI) for taking blood AGAIN for a troponin.
I want a gift card!!!!

I sincerely hope you charted that! I've always believed in giving the best PATIENT care that I can, and sometimes that means telling them the truth about things - I would tell that patient "Well, you have the right to refuse any treatment BUT this is why we are doing these things...........!" Then I would chart 'pt. educated about..........' and their response.

Health care is heading for a crisis in the coming years - too many people that can't or won't pay the high prices, and end up on medicaid, etc. Plus, I really believe that doctors and nurses in general will get TIRED of all this and eventually tell the corporations to bugger off.

brendamyheart · Oct 17, 2006

I work in LCF. My favorite pet peeve is, if a resident does not want to be there he/ she will tell the family what a horror we have been. The family, and upper-management believe this without asking us what truly is happening. Admissions will take anyone, even if they know there is a problem with the family and that resident has been bouncing from one NH to another. We are left cleaning up the mess and blamed we did not give good costumer service!!!!!:angryfire :angryfire :angryfire

25(2)+2 · Oct 17, 2006

i work as a cna cma in a lcf and i feel the residents are paying my wages therefore the deserve the best care i can give them. some times when they use their call light and i go into the room they say I hate to be a bother. my response is when you are a bother i am in the wrong line of work. they thank me numerous times for the help i give them, i wonder if they realize they give me back more than i give them. they give my life purpose, most show respect and when i break through the ones with dimentia it is very rewarding to me. is this customer service ???? no it is much deeper than that it is respect for one another something that is really lacking in this world and it is wonderful feeling while i am working to know that it still exists. Enough said?

southern_rn_brat · Oct 18, 2006

I work in LCF. My favorite pet peeve is, if a resident does not want to be there he/ she will tell the family what a horror we have been. The family, and upper-management believe this without asking us what truly is happening. Admissions will take anyone, even if they know there is a problem with the family and that resident has been bouncing from one NH to another. We are left cleaning up the mess and blamed we did not give good costumer service!!!!!:angryfire :angryfire :angryfire

preach it sister, preach it!

I love the phone calls from OUT OF STATE family members yelling at me "my mother has been wet for hours!!" and momma is as demented as anything. Then they argue with you when you tell them she is clean and dry but demented. :rolleyes:

I agree with you about administration not even bothering to ask the staff what is going on and taking a family complaint. Whats so hard about telling them "thank you for telling me, let me check on this and I will get back to you" and then actually asking the staff about it and then getting back with the family?? How hard is that?

and what about the patients that admissions even tells them "dont take this patient!" and administration makes us take them anyway and then wonders why all the complaints and problems from this patient:rolleyes:

but on the other side.....why do we make such easily prevented mistakes that makes us look like idiots and causes even the best patients and families to complain?

I had a patient's son come to me sunday questioning his mom's lasix order. They had been to the doctor on Friday and the doctor had changed her Lasix from 20mg bid to 40mg qd. My first thought was why hadnt any of us done that?? His question was that his mom was telling him she was now going to the bathroom alot more than before. So I check the chart and sure enough the order was changed. So as he stands with me I take the MAR to show him it had been changed, only on the MAR it had been taken off 40mg BID :rolleyes:

So instead of assuring him we were taking good care of mom, I had to stand there and apologize for our mistake and assure him I had fixed it and his mom would have no adverse effects from it.

Why do things like this always happen to the families that seem to have the most complaints?

I could have crawled under the desk and pulled my hair out.