Fill in the blank: “The customer is always __________.”
If you are like 99.9% of people, you either thought or said the word “right.” We live in a society where the idea of – pleasing the customer above all else – has been put on a pedestal. Consider the following quote by leadership savant, Ford Taylor with Transformational Leadership:
“The customer isn’t always right, but the customer is always the customer.”
What is your initial reaction to that statement?
In most industries (arguably all of them), Client Services is typically the glue that holds everything together. For any entrepreneur or business owner, the single most important aspect is company growth. Many business or practices owners believe that the primary driver behind business growth is more sales. However, without proper service delivery, more marketing and sales can not only stunt business growth, it can damage your name and reputation.
My name is Grant Schuchmann and I’ve recently come to STAT Medcare, LLC as the VP of Client Services (among other things). In the past, STAT MedCare, LLC has always valued high levels of customer service, as well as reputation and integrity in the Credentialing and Provider Enrollment Industry. In my short time with STAT, we have decided to make this our new mission statement:
“Providing Client Services built on a foundation of trust and integrity”
As an employer, it’s easy to elevate the status of your clients over the status of your employees. When this happens, the stage is set for a slippery slope that can lead to a client-services train wreck.
Why? The formula is pretty simple:
If you take care of your employees, your employees will take care of your customers.
If your employees knows that your “customer is always right,” then your employees and your customer will soon learn that your customers can push you around.
When your employees get the message that no matter how you let your clients treat them; and they must bend over backwards with as much work as possible so your clients won’t complain; your staff will start to feel overworked, burned out, and underappreciated.
- Have you ever been there before?
- Have you ever dreaded speaking with your customers because you know they’re going to complain?
- Have you ever had that feeling in your stomach before staff meetings?
- Have you gotten to the point where you just don’t want to get out of bed in the morning and go to work?
If you subscribe to the motto that “The customer is always right,” then you’re likely headed down the path that will cause a Client Services train wreck.
I can already hear you saying to me: “But you have to have make your customers feel like they are important!”
This also couldn’t be more true. Where there are multiple angels and steps to take in delivering proper client services, the biggest step is how to handle negative feedback, complaints, or escalations. Here are some tips:
- If you ever find out that one of your employees has been mistreated by a client, let the client and the employee know that it’s not okay for ANYONE to treat one of your employees poorly.
- In the event that you receive a complaint, regardless how of the potential anger or emotion of a client, simply state, “Thank you for your feedback. We here at STAT rely on this type of feedback to continually better our services.”
- Then, follow up with an action plan to get back with the customer and resolve the issue.
- *When one of your employees makes a mistake with a customer, there is a formula on how to handle it which will allow you to take the situation and keep that customer for life. For more management and leadership tips, remember to follow our articles and newsletters regularly.
- In the event that your customer has made a mistake and your staff did follow through with their assignment, get to the bottom of the issue by collecting the facts.
- Once it’s been established that your staff or your company has done nothing wrong, explain the situation to your client along with any next steps.
When your employees know that you have their backs, they will take care of your customers. When your customers know that you’re committed to client services and that you have a process in place to resolve client issues and concerns, they will respect your values. Bottom line is this: when you value high levels of Client Services and you (as a business administrator) put these procedures in place effectively, you end up with both client and employees for life.
In an effort to increase the levels of satisfaction in Client Services, STAT Medcare, LLC would like to highlight our 5-day, resolution timeframe.
- Know your type of feedback:
- Compliment
- Escalation or Complaint
- General Feedback or Questions
- Submit your feedback:
- Resolution Process Begins:
- Resolution Follow Up:
If you are a current client or a Referral Partner with STAT, we both challenge and encourage you to use the most convenient Client Services Feedback Channel on a regular basis if you ever have any Compliments, Complaints, Concerns, or Questions by submitting them on our website at: www.STATMedCareSolutions.com/Feedback.
STATMedCare, LLC has been around the block for the past 14 years. Our mission is to provide client services on a foundation of integrity and trust. Let us share one of our professional tools with your practice as well, so you can compare it to or add to your current credentialing process: Here is a free copy of our Provider Enrollment Checklist.