Grr! "Customer Service" Nursing Gone Crazy!

Chaya, ASN, RN · Dec 8, 2009

Trouble is, if you don't help these "customers" out they walk into the linen room and come out with half the blankets left on the cart that need to supply the whole floor for the rest on the night. Or you see them coming out of a precaution room, going into the kitchen and touching everything within reach without washing their hands. Or giving Grandpa, who is supposed to be on a pureed diet, a burger from the cafeteria! :eek:

Katie5 · Dec 8, 2009

To play the devil's advocate here. Customer service, when done in moderation is really not a bad idea.

It's simply being polite and showing courtesy to another that one would love to have shown to them. Amidst the sheer rudeness being witnessed constantly, it's a pleasure to have someone take their time and answer one's questions and try, at least, their best to soothe and calm.

I think it is when it goes to extremes, that it becomes a pain.Otherwise customer service is a good thing.

nursemike, ASN, RN · Dec 8, 2009

To play the devil's advocate here. Customer service, when done in moderation is really not a bad idea.
It's simply being polite and showing courtesy to another that one would love to have shown to them. Amidst the sheer rudeness being witnessed constantly, it's a pleasure to have someone take their time and answer one's questions and try, at least, their best to soothe and calm.
I think it is when it goes to extremes, that it becomes a pain.Otherwise customer service is a good thing.

For me, on a typical shift, there are times when I'm very busy, and times when I could be catching up on my charting. I really hate charting, so when I'm caught up with meds and such, I'll ask patients and visitors if they need anything. Gives me an excuse to put off charting. (Oh, I'm a bad, bad nurse...)

More than a few times, offering a worried and/or exhausted family member a cup of coffee or tea has gotten a look of real gratitude. Some are PITAs, to be sure, but some are just good folks having a bad time. I will not apologize for setting necessary priorities, but I do think there are times when my definition of "patient" has to be broad enough to include their support system.

Here's the thing about customer service and management: the patients/families who get mad at me are mad at everybody. Are they going to fire everybody? And what about all the other patients/families who are pleased at how caring and attentive I've been? Do they matter?

As far as the current economy vs the nursing shortage: sure, I can be replaced. Right now, I can be replaced fairly easily. A year or so ago, I was getting 2-3 letters a month from recruiters. Now I only get one every couple of months. So, if I had to look for a job, I might actually have to look, just like regular people. So, how's it going to be next year? Fire me today, if you want to. Next year, I'll be tossing your recruiting letters in the trash.

blueheaven · Dec 8, 2009

That is so true!! I think this would be outside the realm of customer service, as it is a REAL physiological response--I've seen lots of posts here talking about doctor's orders for just that, like beer 8oz tid. But the patient reading a busy nurse the riot act because her wine was delivered 30min after Jay Leno started?

Maybe you could say to Mz. PITA "You know, you could go over to hospital XYZ, I hear they let the patients keep their wine bottle at the bedside" Nothing like a "Whine-O":cheers:

AuntieRN · Dec 8, 2009

I had a pt tell me the other day "You are paid to wait on me hand and foot" my response "No maam I am not. I am paid to help you get better and you can open your own straw. Thats helping you get better so you can go home and take care of yourself" uggghhhh!!!

Just reminding myself how much I love being a nurse regardless of the nonsense that comes with it

Manatee111 · Dec 9, 2009

We recently were told at my hospital that we has to attend an upcoming lecture on how to increase our customer service scores called "From good to very good!" because our Press Ganey scores show that our average "very Good Service" is 61% & it needs to be above 75%. Once I bought a car & the salesman told me that when the survey comes in the mail that I needed to mark VERY GOOD. Not just good. Since when is health care about sales numbers????

allnurses Guide · Dec 9, 2009

Listening to people, asking how they are doing, answering questions and soothing fear aren't something that most nurses need to be taught at a slick seminar with it's catchy slogans and coffee mugs. They do make for an interesting change of scenery for a day, though, and lunch.

When someone says, "well, you know, I was in Customer Service for xx years and I think you nurses could learn a thing or two, etc" I laugh, because by a long stretch, most nurses I know already have the desired qualities and would love to have more time to express them, and most Customer Service Reps I encounter are barely adequate and sometimes downright rude.

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Dec 9, 2009

The way I see it, there is nothing wrong with a little fluffing and puffing. I really enjoy making my patients and their family members feel better by doing the little things that seem important to them. It's just that I am getting paid to keep people safe, and patient safety trumps those little niceties every single time. Pt. A might not like having to wait for her Sierra Mist even one second longer, but Pt. B will not live without an airway. I really don't understand why that is so hard for people to comprehend. I'd rather a patient be alive to complain that their dinner was cold than that they be dead because I was too busy providing customer service to notice them deteriorating in time to prevent them from coding. It's not that complicated. Why is this so hard to understand?

tewdles, RN · Dec 9, 2009

I agree Virgo...most of us want to care for people...so doing nice things for them when we have time comes naturally. The hospitals are on the wrong track and they will not discover it until they actually listen to some nurses...perhaps the super union will give the profession that voice that we so clearly need.

Music in My Heart · Dec 9, 2009

As long as nurse allow this to go on, administration will continue to humiliate you in this manner.
Get together as a grop and flat out refuse!!

But only as a group. Individuals will simply be terminated... no shortage of folks looking for work.

The resistance by so many nurses to the idea of standardized contracts still just blows me away.

Music in My Heart · Dec 9, 2009

We were told recently by management that taking care of the family is part of our job, and we were to comply in any way we can...

I guess I'd argue that, if you had a patient who really was "circling the drain," then you couldn't comply with their request. No harm, no foul.

justavolunteer · Dec 9, 2009

I am 'justavolunteer' who is glad to be helpful in anyway I can. The nurses know that I will be right there when a new patient arrives, wanting to know if I can get them water. HOWEVER, I do NOT agree that customer services involves abuse from families, being cursed at, etc. (I have had it happen, even to me. Luckily I can avoid a lot of it because I am a volunteer).

The idea today seems to be that politeness and common courtesy have no place in how nurses are treated. WRONG!

The thing some PITA pts. never seem to figure out is that everyone, including me, realizes who they are pretty quickly. The people who are on the call light every 2 minutes & nasty to whoever shows up end up getting less attention because no one wants to deal with them.

I love being a volunteer and I know a lot of nurses who are very caring people, but the most caring person person in the world still does not want endless abuse.