What’s bad about good service quality?

Ratan Jalan , Founder & Principal Consultant Medium Healthcare Consulting

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THINK SERIES

Incredibly, a whole lot!

Allow  me  to  explain  www.m

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Just  think  about  how  o8en  you  have  received  ro<en  service.  Be  it  railways,  electricity  boards,  water  supply,  passport  services  or  even  private  sector  providers  in  sectors  such  as  telecom.  Now,  think  about  how  o8en  you  have  actually  complained.  Rarely,  I  am  sure.    

Unless   you   have   some   a<achment,   have   the   need   for   using   the   service   again   from   the   same  vendor  or  even  more  importantly,  a  strong  sense  of  opEmism  that  you  would  not  only  be  heard,  but  the  right  correcEve  acEon  would  soon  be  taken,  you  are  not  likely  to  waste  your  Eme.  

Let’s  think  of  yet  another  scenario.  You  have  just  had  dinner  with  your  family  at  a  restaurant  and  the   owner/manager   asks   for   your   feedback.   If   you   were   to   say   bad,   you   would   invariably   be  required  to  explain  ‘why’.  You  be<er  have  really  strong  reasons!  So  you  would  choose  to  say  bad,  only   when   the   services   were   r-­‐e-­‐a-­‐l-­‐l-­‐y   bad,   else   you   would   choose   the   safer   opEon   ‘ok’   or  ‘good’.To  make  ma<ers  worse,  we  Indians  also  tend  to  be  extra  polite  and  nice   in  these  ma<ers  the  thought  being  ‘why  hurt  someone  unnecessarily’.    

Let’s   now   get   back   to   any   hospital   or   diagnosEc   centre.   They   all   have   lengthy   service   quality  feedback  forms  with  a  lot  of  quesEons  and  innumerable  boxes  to  be  Ecked  ranging  from  excellent  to  poor  against  each  parameter.  These  are  filled  in  by  some  of  the  paEents  or  their  relaEves  and  then,  analyzed.  And  we  come  across  data,  which  says  92%  of  the  paEents  find  our  services  ok  or  good;   the   implicaEon   being   there   are   very   few,   who   have   complained.And   that’s   enough   for  everyone  in  the  hospital  to  feel  so-­‐very-­‐happy  about  the  good  service  quality  being  delivered.    

The  reality,  I  believe,  is  quite  different.  Walk  into  any  of  the  large  corporate  hospitals  and  simply  sit   in   the   lobby   for  a   few  minutes  observing  people  around  you.  Most  of   them  would   look   lost,  panicked  and  helpless.   If  you  probed  a   li<le  deeper,  you  would  realize   that  a  key  source  of   this  feeling   is   -­‐no   one   tells   them  anything   about   anything.   They   have   very   li<le   idea   about  what   is  happening  or  will  happen  to  their  near  and  dear  ones.  In  conjuncEon,  the  bill  keeps  on  shooEng  up!  There  are  hundred  other  factors  adding  to  the  deep  rooted  sense  of  apathy  and  impersonal  care.  

It  could  all  be  so  different!  Almost  everyone  agrees  that  the  healthcare  business  is  largely  driven  by   word   of   mouth   and   people   find   that   to   be   the   most   reliable   source   of   informaEon   while  selecEng  physicians  or  hospitals.  It  simply  means  that  we  need  to  focus  on  creaEng  ambassadors  or  promoters  of  our  brand.    

And   no   ‘saEsfied’   customer  will   do   that.   It   requires   someone   to   have   a   very   different   level   of  paEent  experience  –  a  really  caring,  concerned  and  proacEve  level  of  service  and  behavior  from  all   the   care   givers-­‐   from   the   surgeon   to   the   security   guard.   It   requires   that   such   behavior   is  exhibited  at  every  touch  point  and  consistently,  not  just  once  in  a  while.    

And   most   importantly,   it   requires   a   very   different   mindset   and   an   inflexible   a[tude   towards  paEent  centricity.  

I  maintain  my  opEmism  that   there  would  be  those,  who  would  see  the  wriEng  on  the  wall  and  take  a  bold  step  to  lead  the  path.  That’s  when  a  paEent  will  no  longer  be  required  to  be  paEent.    

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Medium  is  a  healthcare  consulEng  firm.  Our  services  include  Business  Strategy,  MarkeEng  &  Sales,  Quality  &  PaEent  Experience,  Performance  TransformaEon,  Healthcare  Franchising.  and  Public  Health.    

We  are  innovaEve,  passionate  and  performance-­‐driven.  But,  most  of  all,  we  are  commi<ed  to  delivering  significant  and  tangible  business  impact  for  our  clients.    

Our  clients  have  ranged  from  large  hospital  chains  and  single-­‐specialty  hospitals  to  primary  care  clinics,  medical  equipment  manufacturers  and  private  equity.  

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