"Customer service" and nursing

Nurses Relations

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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 work in LTC/Rehab. Last week we had to deal with the very demanding daughter of a new rehab patient. She actually said she did not care about any of the needs of the other 19 patients we were caring for, she only cared about her moms needs and we would meet all of them right then no matter how long it took or how trivial they were. They were sooo rude and nasty. My co-worker says it best, "This isn't Burger King and you don't always get it all your way!" She would never say that to a patient, it just helps to say it after you get screamed at because you cant meet 158 demands right then.;)

I would have said to her, "You're very worried about your Mom, aren't you?"

I personally have acted like a horse's hiney and said the same thing about not caring about anyone else's needs when my own folks were hospitalized. A nurse, God bless her, said that to me - about the fear, I mean. I was so relieved that she recognized what was really happening with me. As a nurse, I knew all the things that could go wrong and was terrified for Mom's safety.

Her acknowledging this fear didn't change anything. I felt more at ease, though, and relaxed a little.

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OK, now I do have to ask - did the person know she was free to use the microwave? Did she know the location?

She couldn't ask? How hard is it to say "I know you're busy, can I warm this up myself?"

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She couldn't ask? How hard is it to say "I know you're busy, can I warm this up myself?"

Some people don't want to impose. Or maybe she was already told she couldn't.

And I think that at least SOME of what nurses perceive as anger might not really be. It is fear maybe.

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Oh, I'm sure it's fear, but even fear is not an excuse to write up a nurse for a non-medical transgression such as "She didn't warm up my husband's soup so he wasn't able to enjoy his dinner."

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The soup issue, I don't think people are most angry about the complaint from the woman, annoyed maybe, but not angry. People are angry that the MANAGER who should know better, who should recognize that needs come before wants, wrote it up instead of saying, "Good for you saving that life in the midst of really bad staffing conditions."

I got written up for bad customer service for giving a mom smoking cessation information while her baby was in the hospital and would desat every time mom came back in from smoking (the woman stunk of smoke!) I was nice when I did it, but if she doesn't want to hear it, it doesn't matter how nice I am. My patient's safety called for me to do something mom didn't want. Customer service wise, I guess I shouldn't have though.

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I got written up for bad customer service for giving a mom smoking cessation information while her baby was in the hospital and would desat every time mom came back in from smoking (the woman stunk of smoke!) I was nice when I did it, but if she doesn't want to hear it, it doesn't matter how nice I am. My patient's safety called for me to do something mom didn't want. Customer service wise, I guess I shouldn't have though.

An RT recently got written up by a family member when he told the family it would be best if they did not smoke in front of the pt anymore, who was in the ER and being admitted for COPD exac. The family claimed he gave them a rude lecture, when all he did was make one comment.

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Specializes in Telemetry, Nursery, Post-Partum.

There is one issue about customer service, that will never, ever be solved. Its the way people, both staff and patients ("customers") percieve things. Everybody puts a different spin on what they hear. I've been more aware of that lately, in my current work environment (the nursery) because I can hear both sides of the story sometimes. For example, a parent will come in with their baby for assessment, or whatever. And after they leave, the nurse I'm working with will say "did you hear that? can you believe that?" etc, etc. And meanwhile I'm thinking, heard what? sounded normal to me! Or an L&D nurse will come over to talk to us, and someone I'm working with will just interpret what she says differently than me. We, as nurses, may think we are saying something politely, the patient, or their family, hears it as rude, condescending, whatever. And I used to work on a unit where we weren't allowed to say we were too busy. I'm still not sure what we were supposed to say??? My former manager would say that patients don't want to hear about other people's problems. Well, I'm not going to violate HIPPA, or go into any details, but I think telling a patient you had an emergency, or, in the case of the nursery, couldn't leave till someone came to relieve you (obviously we can't leave the babies alone!) is appropriate. Otherwise they don't know what to think about what was going on, and for some people, their first instinct is to assume you were ignoring their needs.

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Not being able to say you were busy, that's just management's way of passing the buck. If we can't say we were busy, then the patients can blame it on lazy nurses rather than the real problem, which is inadequate staffing (or even if adequate, the fact that we aren't private duty nurses!)

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The hospitals seem to want it both ways...they want the nurses to cater to every whim of every patient and family member and yet they don't want to provide the staff in order for that to even remotely possible. Patient care will always come first, but when nurses have so much of their plate due to short staffing than getting a juice for the hubby of a patient can't be a priortity. Ever. If you can you do it and if it puts another patient at risk you don't. End of story.

And for those of you written up for idiotic things can you flat out refuse to do so?! I would have a heard time signing anything I didn't agree with. I would write up my side, but I still wouldn't be comfortable signing their document.

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Specializes in Peds Urology,primary care, hem/onc.
There is one issue about customer service, that will never, ever be solved. Its the way people, both staff and patients ("customers") percieve things. Everybody puts a different spin on what they hear. I've been more aware of that lately, in my current work environment (the nursery) because I can hear both sides of the story sometimes. For example, a parent will come in with their baby for assessment, or whatever. And after they leave, the nurse I'm working with will say "did you hear that? can you believe that?" etc, etc. And meanwhile I'm thinking, heard what? sounded normal to me! Or an L&D nurse will come over to talk to us, and someone I'm working with will just interpret what she says differently than me. We, as nurses, may think we are saying something politely, the patient, or their family, hears it as rude, condescending, whatever. And I used to work on a unit where we weren't allowed to say we were too busy. I'm still not sure what we were supposed to say??? My former manager would say that patients don't want to hear about other people's problems. Well, I'm not going to violate HIPPA, or go into any details, but I think telling a patient you had an emergency, or, in the case of the nursery, couldn't leave till someone came to relieve you (obviously we can't leave the babies alone!) is appropriate. Otherwise they don't know what to think about what was going on, and for some people, their first instinct is to assume you were ignoring their needs.

:yeahthat: This is a great thread and I agree a lot of what this quote says. I do have some comments. I have some thoughts. I have worked in pediatrics for almost 10 years. Yes, we do have a different perspective and expectation for dealing with their families. We are better staffed than the adult world and that makes it easier. There are extremes to any situation. There are definitely rude nurses/MD's/CNA's etc. out there. A lot of their attitude could be b/c of being overworked and underappreciated. On the flip side, there are a families/people out there that are NEVER going to be happy no matter what you do. The important thing here is for the appropriate amount of perspective. I bend over backward and do the most I can for my families. The people I work with know this and my managers know this as well. I rarely hear about families complaining about me although I am sure it happens b/c they know that I try my best to do everything I can for my families. I also work in a division that is appropriately staffed. In my previous job, I was overworked and there was unrealistic expectations re: customer service. If, by myself, you expect me to work with a doctor who is seeing 70 patients in 8 hours or triage more than a hundred phone calls during flu season... my customer service skills are going to suffer and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. Even if I try. I was getting written up by my manager on a weekly basis because I did not talk to the families enough (I am sorry, but I cannot talk about the weather, the news etc) or did not spend an hour telling a mom how to treat diaper rash, did smile enough,e of you are going to slam me for this but it really is all about preception. If you are dealing with people that are very self centered and don't appreciate the job you do, they have a warped idea of what is appropriate. You do the best you can!

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
But, Tweety, we can't run around quitting q time something goes wrong.

Of course not, things go wrong a dozen times a day. I promise you though, if I get written up because I didn't go fetch someone a coke, then that's not a place I will work in. While I work at a customer service oriented place, they aren't that extreme as some of the place in this thread. I understand the frustration if employers are being that petty.

Now if I get written up for being rude to a family member "get it yourself, do you think I'm room service and you're at the Hilton?", then I would humbly sign it and go on.

To me customer service isn't about providing the patient with their every whim and being a waiter and/or their maid. If I can't get them a coke, then I need to find a way to say I won't do it, but with kindness. It's about them percieving they are understood and cared for. I can make them wait for an hour for pain medicine, or forget them and leave then on a bedpan for 30 minutes, but if I provide good customer service, they'll get over it and love me in the end and will not give me bad customer service scores.

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Specializes in NICU/Neonatal transport.

To me customer service isn't about providing the patient with their every whim and being a waiter and/or their maid. If I can't get them a coke, then I need to find a way to say I won't do it, but with kindness. It's about them percieving they are understood and cared for. I can make them wait for an hour for pain medicine, or forget them and leave then on a bedpan for 30 minutes, but if I provide good customer service, they'll get over it and love me in the end and will not give me bad customer service scores.

You have encapsulated my thoughts, very nicely said.

Perhaps the real question is then: why are adult hospitals so vastly understaffed in comparison with peds?

And for those who were concerned with my hoho box, the point is that when you are completely confined to bed and can't do anything for yourself, no matter how you arrange what, there will be things out of reach and stuff you need help with.

People cope and show fear in different ways. I would ask everyone to take a look, an unbiased look, at the posts that have been made. While many have a good point and a very valid point of view, the disdain and almost vitriol for families is apparent. Something needs to change about that.

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