A First Class Approach

astanowski — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:00:18 +0000

On my way to attending the ACHE Congress, I took USAir from Philadelphia to Chicago. I hit the seat lottery, and was upgraded to first class. Just before the plane began its descent to O’Hare, the flight attendant went to every person in the first class cabin, and thanked each of us by name. Looking each directly in the eye, she said that on behalf of USAir, and also for herself personally, she wanted to thank us for flying USAirways. Her comment was sincere: “I know that I owe my job to your flying USAir. And I want you to know that I appreciate it.”

I thought of this interaction and implications in healthcare. At ARAMARK, we use the words “Key Words at Key Times” to describe how we educate our associates regarding their patient interactions. Two sessions I attended were also related to the consumer experience. What’s interesting is that although the speakers came from different perspectives, the process was very similar. Gail Scott called it the “Act With TACT Model” — where TACT stands for:

- Take Ownership
- Acknowledge and Apologize
- Communicate and Correct, and
- Thank, Track, Trend and Learn.

Tom Tull and Candace Jennings of Mountain States Health Alliance (TN) defined a foundation for service excellence – called WOW – Values in Action. This process involved:

- First Impressions
- Personal Appearance
- Caring Customer Service
- Communication
- Patient Information and Education
- Customer Interactions
- Respect
- Etiquette
- Commitment

The presentation that CHRISTUS VP Mike McBride and I did focused on Succeeding in the Patient-Centered Age of Healthcare. It defined the AIDET (Acknowledge, Introduce, Duration, Explanation and Thank You) technique popularized by the Studer Group in guiding patient interactions. A copy of the presentation can be downloaded here.

Whatever the acronyms and approach, it appears that leading health care organizations are focusing on making a positive impact the customer experience which includes a scripted support staff interaction. These folks will succeed in the post-recession future! To kick off my first Blog posting … I’m interested in hearing about approaches that your health care organization has implemented, and affects they have had on outcomes.

Observations on Operations » tom tull

A First Class Approach