Make sure you care...

My wife and I have been seeing a highly recommended doctor whose practice is so poorly run that we regularly have to wait several hours in dangerously crowded offices before being seen. We realize that Covid-19 may have affected their staffing, but it shouldn’t have cancelled the basic principles of good service… like acknowledging long wait times or being empathetic. This week’s nearly 4-hour wait was the last straw – we walked out and went looking for another doctor. Uncaring service often portends poor quality, and the day any of us settles for less, especially from a medical professional, is the day we will get less. I’ve worked in customer service, so I know that while good service takes training, practice and focus, it’s not rocket science. Doctor’s offices, like restaurants, hotel front desks, airline check in counters, and TSA lines know exactly how many people they can expect at any given time… hey, they book or schedule them, so they know. Given that advantage, making people wait in those situations is especially galling. Whether using actual schedules or trend analyses, businesses and their leaders should make it their business to get this stuff right. Getting it wrong is often less a sign of ignorance or lack of planning than it is a result of not caring. Don’t let your business fall into that latter category today.

Iman Abdulmajid (born 1955): Somali fashion model, actress and entrepreneur, a former muse of several famous designers, and widow of English rock musician David Bowie