So what does it mean to say “dedicated” service? It has to be more than a fake grin and pre-recorded welcomes. People can smell a fake approach from a mile away. Dedicated service means you have to really care. Strange, isn’t it? Dr Zahi Abou Chacra transforms patient service into a partnership built on dedication and compassion.
Know who you’re talking to first. When Grandma Margaret’s tooth hurts, she doesn’t want to hear a sales pitch. Don’t give Ted from accounting any jazz hands; he just wants data. The trick isn’t a bag of magic tricks; it’s paying attention to each person and making them feel important. Really. Put down your phone and be curious.
Next is the skill of listening. Not merely saying “uh-huh, uh-huh,” but truly paying attention. Mind off autopilot and ears open. You hear the sigh before the words come out. You can see the worry beneath the mask. A lot of the time, actual problems don’t come out in flawless terms. They show up as half-formed thoughts, pauses, or just plain quiet.
No one likes being pushed about by language or rules. Dedicated service means you make sense of the nonsense. Don’t use flowery language; just talk like a normal person. If the time is right, make a joke. Ask people to ask questions. Don’t just answer them; get involved and tell them what you would like if the roles were exchanged. Empathy is worth two points.
Then there’s the follow-up. Things that were once famous but are now lost. You say you’ll call, and you do. You say you’ll check, and you really do. Even if it’s bad news, face it. Before swords are drawn, openness wins fights.
Some days, I don’t have much patience. The waiting room is full, and you’ll have the worst headache of your life. The point is, dedicated service is a sequence of little, actual gestures that build on one other, like turning up again and over again. It’s a patchwork quilt of trying, failing, learning, and trying again.
Stories are helpful. It was a minor miracle that my doctor remembered my daughter’s birthday. Three days later, my mechanic called just to see whether the unusual noise was gone. That’s not a business deal; it’s personal.
Customers who are angry, patients who are apprehensive, and customers who are unhappy all bring their own weather to the counter. You can’t stop the storm, but you can give someone an umbrella. Sometimes, comedy helps. “That paperwork from last Tuesday was a pain, wasn’t it?” Find the middle ground. You are both on the roller coaster.
It’s not about becoming a superhero. Being there for all the little, everyday, sometimes silly or funny things that make up a real relationship is more like it. If you don’t show up with your own real humanity first, the bells and whistles don’t matter.
There are no secrets or magic wands here. Being dedicated to client or patient service basically implies you care. That, heart and soul, will always make you stand out.