Service Excellence Service Excellence is the driving force of our organization – every patient, every time, always But does everything always go right? Patient dissatisfaction can be a barrier to creating a culture of ALWAYS Service recovery allows us an opportunity to counter a negative experience with a positive experience Complaints can create the most loyal customers if handled appropriately

What is Service Recovery? Effective complaint management/service recovery program: A company's resolution of a problem from a dissatisfied customer, converting them into a loyal customer. It is the action a service provider takes in response to service failure It’s making right what went wrong

RRH employees are asked to: Participate in the service recovery program: Identify dissatisfied patients/families/visitors Great service recovery allows us an opportunity to counter a negative emotional experience with a positive emotional experience Respond with your HEART - utilize service recovery tools and guidelines HEART is a mnemonic service recovery tool to help you remember how to appropriately respond Provide timely and effective service recovery action

Service Recovery Model

Hear the Patient Introduce yourself (AIDET) Show compassion and positive presence (positive body language) Listen to understand Listen attentively and do not interrupt Don’t argue or be defensive; don't take the complaint personally Do not make excuses Don’t show your frustration with the Patient Do not exhibit jousting (the process of one health care professional or other staff criticizing another or the institution)

Empathize Acknowledge the Patient’s feelings, their frustration or difficulty “I can see how upsetting this is to you” “I can hear how frustrated you are” “I can appreciate how frustrated you must be” Use appropriate tone of voice and body language that mirrors your words

Apologize Make it personal, specific, immediate, and blameless Do not place the blame on others Be genuine and sincere Apologize for experience, not the act “I am sorry you had this experience…” “We really regret that your experience was less than favorable but appreciate you bringing your concerns to our attention.” I’m sorry we didn’t meet your expectations today but I appreciate you taking time to share this information with me. “We certainly regret the frustration that this caused you and extend our apologies to you” “We are very sorry that you feel…”

Respond to the problem Appreciate the effort it took them to express the concern and appreciate the opportunity to make a difference – view as a gift – it is an opportunity for us to learn & grow Respond promptly Respond to the person, then the problem Follow through on promises After you’ve exhausted all efforts to respond/resolve, if you sense that the problem is still unresolved, “move it up” speak with your manager or supervisor and tell the patient what to expect. Refer to other resources (nursing administration, social services, risk management, etc.) if you can’t immediately resolve.

Following situations generally require assistance: Concerns involving several departments Complaints involving Physicians Any unresolved or repeat complaints Abuse allegations – report “immediately” Complaints regarding confidentiality Complaints involving injury Allegations of litigation or malpractice Concerns result in a bad outcomes

Additional Resources Senior Management / Administration Nursing Administration Risk Management / Quality Department Immediate Supervisor/ House Supervisor Social Services Security

Thank the Patient For bringing their concern to your attention “Thank you for taking time to talk with me about this” “I appreciate your telling me this, so that we can do something about it” “I really appreciate the fact that you have shared this with me”

“Heart” Tool Hear the Patient Empathize Apologize Respond Thank