I've seen a lot of people talk about 'customer service' in a disparaging manner, as if that is not what nursing is about and it's making their lives harder to provide it.
Could someone explain that more for me?
Personally customer service is another way of saying good bedside manner. It doesn't matter what you know if you cannot present it in a way that encourages others to follow you. Many of the things I hear people complaining about for "customer service", could be solved by patient/family education and a less adversarial relationship between staff and family.
Our CEO recently sent out an e-mail complaining that our customer satisfaction scores were down. He was especially upset that our parent hospital had a significantly higher score. He cancelled the usual awards program and told us to go out and do something nice for our pts or help someone find their way around the hospital. I felt insulted.
My feelings about this issue have not changed. A hospital is not a hotel and should not be judged on the same criteria. I've told him (CEO) that just because someone likes our hospital, they are not going to suspend their judgment and give us all 5's. The person's mood when they get the survey in the mail often has a much to do with our scores as our actual service. Our diabetes care center is accredited by the ADA. One outpatient rated us lower because we seemed to follow ADA guidelines too closely.
It's a shame that someone has to be told to be nice to people.
I agree with your other point as well. Usually the one's who are going to respond are the one's likely to complain and fill out a survery. At least that's what our population does. Our scores are always dreadful.
I agree with DusktilDawn. 'Customer service' is not about giving good quality nursing care, its about keeping the patients and their families happy ---no matter what. IMO, the way management is now attempting to define 'customer service' in terms of quality nursing care is both silly and impractical. Nurses nowadays are working with more and sicker patients, our scope of practice is broader so we have more responsibilities, and we are under increased pressure because of higher Joint Commission standards and our own concerns for patient safety and potential liability issues. So, its likely that there's always going to be that angry patient or family member who files a complaint because we didn't bring the extra blanket they asked for fast enough, or because we didn't come back at exactly the time we said we would. In an acute care environment we must constantly rearrange our priorities, and, in any case, one patient's satisfaction should never have a higher priority over another patient's safety.
I've been written up before because a family member was upset that I didn't come back to warm up her husband's soup and he "couldn't enjoy his dinner." According to my then manager, I seemed to have an issue with communicating with patients and their families because I should have gone back to the room and explained why I didn't come back at the time I said I would. Sorry, but if I'm juggling a bunch of patients on a busy med surg floor with no PCA to help me, and one of my post-ops suddenly starts bleeding, I'm not going to leave that bleeding patient to go warm up a bowl of soup. The manager was well aware of the circumstances but she still wrote me up for it anyway.
The way I see it, if management is really serious about giving patients hotel-type 'customer service' then they need to hire more nurses and supportive staff and give us fewer patients, but that probably never going happen, so...
Tweety, I agree with you to a point: we need to deliver quality care and act professionally, but there has to be a limit to that. If I am polite to the families and take good care of their loved ones and include them in my education, that should be enough. I shouldn't have to be written up because a visitor asked me for a soda or snack and I directed them to the vending machines.
Does anyone else think it's ridiculous to place such emphasis on customer satisfaction in a business when people are frequently faced with that which they do not want to hear??
This is not Disney World or a Cruise ship. We can't 'make it all pretty' for them.
[The way I see it, if management is really serious about giving patients hotel-type 'customer service' then they need to hire more nurses and supportive staff and give us fewer patients, but that probably never going happen, so...
Amen to that.
I am much more able to provide customer service when I and my co-workers are not overwhelmed.
I'd also like to see them invest more in furniture. It's hard to keep anyone happy when you have to boot a visitor out of a recliner to get a patient out of bed.
I agree with DusktilDawn. 'Customer service' is not about giving good quality nursing care, its about keeping the patients and their families happy ---no matter what. IMO, the way management is now attempting to define 'customer service' in terms of quality nursing care is both silly and impractical. Nurses nowadays are working with more and sicker patients, our scope of practice is broader so we have more responsibilities, and we are under increased pressure because of higher Joint Commission standards and our own concerns for patient safety and potential liability issues. So, its likely that there's always going to be that angry patient or family member who files a complaint because we didn't bring the extra blanket they asked for fast enough, or because we didn't come back at exactly the time we said we would. In an acute care environment we must constantly rearrange our priorities, and, in any case, one patient's satisfaction should never have a higher priority over another patient's safety.
I've been written up before because a family member was upset that I didn't come back to warm up her husband's soup and he "couldn't enjoy his dinner." According to my then manager, I seemed to have an issue with communicating with patients and their families because I should have gone back to the room and explained why I didn't come back at the time I said I would. Sorry, but if I'm juggling a bunch of patients on a busy med surg floor with no PCA to help me, and one of my post-ops suddenly starts bleeding, I'm not going to leave that bleeding patient to go warm up a bowl of soup. The manager was well aware of the circumstances but she still wrote me up for it anyway.
The way I see it, if management is really serious about giving patients hotel-type 'customer service' then they need to hire more nurses and supportive staff and give us fewer patients, but that probably never going happen, so...
To use your example - your manager told you that after the other pt. was stabilized, you should have gone back to the first pt. and explained what happened. Why is that an unreasonable expectation?
I have worked in retail and as a waitress, perhaps that's why I have a different perspective? Or maybe it's because I've been a long-term pt. in a hospital and know what it is like to be that pt. who is totally dependent?
I'm sure the L&D nurses who floated to my unit hated me. I looked perfectly healthy, I was just on bedrest. But if I wanted a ho-ho or cupcake out of my "goody box", I needed someone to get it for me. I wasn't supposed to be doing any sort of exertion. And I needed the goodies and sweets - I was chronically underweight for an unknown reason, and I was actually following the nutritionist's recommendations, but most float nurses wouldn't have that in-depth of an understanding into my case.
I think too many people forget what it is like to be on the other side of the bed.
Customer service implies that we cater to everything that pleases the customer, and that the customer has a better idea of what he wants. Like hell I would give a diabetic ice cream because I'm prioritizing happiness and satisfaction over health. Like hell I'd let a fussy mom give her child M&Ms before surgery because "My baby's hungry."
My problem is that only nurses get written up for bad customer service issues... MD's can be rude as hell and most patients will just complain to us nurses... But when it comes to nurses they( patients) will go to the higher ups... Go figure!
I'm sure the L&D nurses who floated to my unit hated me. I looked perfectly healthy, I was just on bedrest. But if I wanted a ho-ho or cupcake out of my "goody box", I needed someone to get it for me. I wasn't supposed to be doing any sort of exertion. And I needed the goodies and sweets - I was chronically underweight for an unknown reason, and I was actually following the nutritionist's recommendations, but most float nurses wouldn't have that in-depth of an understanding into my case.
I think too many people forget what it is like to be on the other side of the bed.
That's not customer service, that is pt care. If the nutritionist wanted you to eat junk food to gain weight, then that should have been noted in your chart. The fact that you were on complete bed rest should have been noted in your chart. If the nurses had a problem with either one, that is poor pt care, not bad customer service.
I've seen a lot of people talk about 'customer service' in a disparaging manner, as if that is not what nursing is about and it's making their lives harder to provide it.
Could someone explain that more for me?
Personally customer service is another way of saying good bedside manner. It doesn't matter what you know if you cannot present it in a way that encourages others to follow you. Many of the things I hear people complaining about for "customer service", could be solved by patient/family education and a less adversarial relationship between staff and family.
What are your thoughts?
I just have a big problem with the healthcare industry using a phrase that grocery and retail stores use. Why? Because to me,how my health is treated FAR outranks whether someone was polite or not when i exchanged a bedspread. This is why i cannot compare the two.
Not to mention a lot of our emphasis is more on, for lack of better words after 13 hours on my feet, 'creature comforts'. Yes, Mrs. X didn't get her pain medicine soon enough according to the MAR, but thanks to our 'customer service' surveys, we hear more bru-ha-ha over the not-so-clear reception of Lifetime TV.
If 'customer service' was TRULY about pt. healthcare, i'd be all for it.
. I shouldn't have to be written up because a visitor asked me for a soda or snack and I directed them to the vending machines.
This is not what the customer service movement is about. Sounds like your faclity has got it all wrong. It's not about being someone's servent. If I worked for a such a facility I would have to quit. Seriously, I can't imagine being written up for such a thing and the minute I signed the write up they would get my resignation on the spot.
But when it comes to nurses they( patients) will go to the higher ups... Go figure!
Tweety, BSN, RN
36,322 Posts
It's a shame that someone has to be told to be nice to people.
I agree with your other point as well. Usually the one's who are going to respond are the one's likely to complain and fill out a survery. At least that's what our population does. Our scores are always dreadful.