“A hospital alone shows what war is.”
This quote hit Arun, the General Manager of ABC hospital, very hard. The pale and doleful faces of the attendants visiting their dear ones admitted in the hospital, the customer feedback at the end of each day and the unremitting urge to make the customer experience even better, made him ask himself,
“Is there anything we can add to our existing services? Could any augmentation make our services more patient-centric and empathetic? How can we provide our patients with the assurance they need?”
Barraged with these questions, he became restive. He arranged an urgent meeting with the Customer Relationship Executive of the Hospital, Jhanvi. He delineated his concern to her and directed her to come up with a programme that, to some extent, can enhance the customer experience.
After days of brainstorming, talking with the staff of the hospital, analysing the feedbacks, looking at statistics of the patients, Jhanvi concluded that the number of obstetric cases was high and there were New Mothers every day. She said to herself, “We could implement a programme wherein the hospital celebrates with the parents the joy of welcoming a new member in the family.”
Jhanvi shared her idea with Arun, who readily permitted her to forge ahead with it. In consultation with the IP service manager, floor managers and nursing admin, Jhanvi came up with a small celebration programme for the young one which would include:
- Cake (Yellow in colour, symbolising new life) along with some decorations in the room.
- A congratulatory card.
- A small kit with all the essentials–dress for the little one with body essentials.
- A sapling given to the family to nurture and grow it along with their baby. It was touted as a way of thanking Mother Earth for the gift of life.
- A photograph of the entire family with the baby.
- An immunisation card which will track the vaccination requirements and schedule of the baby.
She reached out to certain companies with the help of the Purchase Department who could sponsor the kits. The budget required was deliberated, and the programme was named “SMALL WONDERS".
Jhanvi proposed the programme to the higher management, outlining all the details and budget requirements. Her views accorded well with those of the management and they gave it a green light, directing her for early implementation of the programme.
The programme, at its nascent stage, was executed in Private and semi-private areas.
Gradually, the customer feedbacks became more encouraging and appreciative & positive word-of-mouth took a hike–the corollaries of increasing customer satisfaction. Most of the parents came back to the hospital for their follow-ups and vaccination of the newborn.
Considering the positive outcomes, later, a “Get well soon” card along with the follow-up details was given to other patients at the time of their discharge which gave the feeling that they are not alone in this war and that the hospital cares about their well-being.
Lessons Learned
- Service Provider & Receiver are on different sides of the table. At times, looking through the lens of customer brings a different perspective, an untouched need-a service differentiator.
- Giving customers more than they’ve asked, can ensure customer loyalty & enhance service quality.
- Handling complexity is a skill. Making simple efforts is Art.