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Customer service not just about customers by Heather Woolwine Public Relations MUSC Department of Medicine (DOM) recently instituted mandatory customer service training for all staff based on the Ambulatory CARES model. Meaning Customers Always Receive Excellent Service, the model served as inspiration for Mary Srinivas, Department of Medicine. “Excellent customer service is of course the key to making sure that patients choose MUSC each time they need their health needs met,” she said. “But in a sense we’re all customers—staff, patients, physicians, etc. Customer service in our minds then is not just how we treat patients, but also how we treat each other.” Srinivas began training DOM staff March 24 and broke her curriculum into three sessions. Two hours apiece, the sessions involve role play and group discussion and include everyone from business coordinators to reception staff. “We’re trying to keep the groups down to 12 people because in a more intimate setting we’ll be able to accomplish better discussions. These sessions will also be different from other initiatives like orientation because we’re working mainly with established employees and asking them to discuss what has and hasn’t worked for them in dealing with customers.” The first training session dabbles in how to make good first impressions, understanding human behavior principles, basic customer service principles, understanding and projecting empathy, body language, and nonverbal communication dos and don’ts. The second session deals with managing stress in individuals’ lives with the knowledge that stress outside of work sometimes translates to stress at work. Session topics include how decision making is affected by stress, effective and ineffective ways of dealing with stress, why people don’t get work done, and tips for time management. The last session is mainly for viewing a video that ties all of the training components together plus specific topics like dealing with difficult customers. “We’re really trying to deal with the psychological aspects of customer service and trying to go beyond advising people to dress nicely and make eye contact,” Srinivas said. “It's always good to remind people of those things too, but we’re hoping to open our staff up to the little things that they can do better.” After completing the training program, DOM staff will sign customer service agreements that will become a part of their personnel files and annual evaluation criteria. “Customer service is like learning or speaking a foreign language,” Srinivas said. “You have to actually practice it to be good at it.” For more information on the training sessions, e-mail Srinivas at srinivam@musc.edu. Practicing Excellent Customer Service Tips Be on time Follow up on your promises Go the extra mile Offer your customer options Express empathy Treat your customer as the most important part of your job Treat your coworkers as customers Give you customer your name and number (ask them to call you if you can be of further assistance)       Friday, April 1, 2005 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.