Customer Service Mentality

[Medico]

Recently I received a matter of investigation from my employer for having an 'attitude' with a LEO. The complaint was unfounded; this did not save me from a verbal tongue lashing which lasted a little over an hour, however. I was scolded on what internal customers are and quality customer service for patients.

My supervisor made a point to commend me on my quality patient care and reinforce that there was no issue with my ability to perform my job, rather the concern of providing "good customer service." I understand that department funding comes largely in part with happy experiences. Which my supervisor made sure they explained that as well. He then proceeded to tell me that I will "have a smile in my voice, a smile on my face, and treat every patient like royalty." I am not one to smile just to smile. I will also not treat anyone like they are royalty. I will treat everyone with respect, dignity, and like a human being. I will not disrespect patients, will always give someone the benefit of the doubt, and will be an advocate.

What bothers me is that where I work, they would rather have mediocre providers who are customer service experts.

More or less, I needed to get this off my chest. Has anyone else experienced similar and how did you handle it? Or am I the one with a disconnect and in the wrong?

 

[Tigger]

Well as a rule I attempt to treat patients, firefighters, and LEOs like royalty unless they are actively preventing me from doing that.

Our patients support is with revenue.
Our firefighters support our operations (usually).
Our LEOs tirelessly look out for us.

So yea, I smile and go out of my way to be nice for the people I interact with at work. I am not a kiss ***, I just try and make everyone's lives easier so that in turn my life can be made easier. That pays me a lot of dividends.

I am not saying you must do this. But it helps me immensely.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Going out of your way to be accomodating of the sensitivities of others is, unfortunately, a BIG part of healthcare.

Many people get butthurt very easily and you just have to learn to sense when that is happening and mitigate it right away. Cops and volley EMT's tend to be among the most sensitive, IME. In many cases, they arent actually offended, they just didnt like something about you and view going to your boss and playing the "unprofessional" card as an effective way to get back at you.

Just learn to kill everyone with kindness. Its silly but make it part of your routine and before long it'll be such a habit that you wont even realize you are doing it. You'll figure it out.

 

[Tigger]

There are few bigger compliments than showing up on scene and having someone say "we were hoping it would be you." It took me along time to get there with the volunteer firefighters but they are so much easier to work with now. I'm not taking a dig at volunteers here, I just think they were weirded out by a young guy stepping out of the ambulance where that's not the norm. They didn't trust me until I proved I was a good guy, which right or wrong is often how it works.

 

[Handsome Robb]

99% of our job is customer service, only 1% is medicine. You could be the best medic out there but be a total ******* and the people you treat won't care how good you are, they'll remember how much of an *** you were. On the flip side you could be a mediocre or even piss-poor provider but if you're nice and caring that's what they'll remember.

You see the crap medics that are great at customer service...why not be a great medic who's great at customer service? It's amazing how far a pillow, blanket and being friendly will get you.

 

[Angel]

eh...im not overly happy smiling 24/7 either but i am nice...
not sure i agree with customers patients supporting revenue because how many actually pay? (at least in my area) but that isnt a reason or excuse to act like an a**hole.
Sometimes we/I have to be stern with patients because they will ramble all day long and be indecisive but I always try to come off as supportive if that makes any sense.
Just try a little harder to be "nice" whatever that means because im not sure how you are...at the end of the day im sure you need that job so jumping through some hoops might be necessary

 

[Handsome Robb]

Was the complaint from LE 'unfounded' in your eyes or was it ruled that way after an investigation? If you did something to make someone irritated enough to file a formal complaint I personally say you should look back and really think about how you interact with your co-responders. This isn't an attack on you, I was a complete and total ******* before I got hurt and had co-responder and patient complaints. Since coming back I've changed my approach and it's made a world of difference. Not only am I happier in general but my job is easier because my co-responders are willing to help me rather than do as little as possible and clear from my scenes.

 

[DesertMedic66]

I will start off nice to patients and will usually stay that way. There are the handful of patients who will go from having me be extremely nice to me having a very firm voice.

Had a lady with C/P several weeks ago. She was 24 and pulled over to the side of the road. After assessing her we gave her the option of going by ambulance or driving herself to the ED for evaluation. After about 10 minutes of her changing her mind we finally got fed up. We ended up having to nicely say that she is an adult and needs to make up her mind now and not wait for daddy to get off his plane to decide for her.

 

[Ewok Jerky]

Of course they would rather have mediocre providers with good attitudes. The are running a SERVICE business. Where I worked, one of the largest EMS companies in the country, mucking up a medical issue would get you remedaition, while getting a complaint from facility staff would get you fired. That's the nature of the business. You have a job to do and part of that job is to smile and say thank you sir may I have another. Even when it hurts, it makes your job so much easier.

What was the LEOs complaint?

If there is one guy on scene I will bend over backwards to keep happy, its the guy with the gun. They will have your back when you really need it. The one time I requested PD on scene immediately they were there in less than 2 minutes, thankfully.

 

[Medico]

Thank you for all the comments and input.

The investigation was unfounded by the department. The complaint itself was silly. I was on a mutual aid call to neighboring jurisdiction for an individual who was assaulted 3 hours prior and was in custody. There were no other units available in my county, which surprised me that we were performing mutual aid for a BLS call. The pt had no visible injuries and simply wanted her eye evaluated at the ED. The LEO said that she will be another 20 minutes to "process her through the computer" to release her on a summons. I nicely explained that there were no other units in my county and that waiting an additional 20 minutes would be a bit too long. I then asked if there was any reason why they can not take her to the ED. The reason I felt justified asking this question was for two reasons.

- Where I am, LE will transport BLS patients to the ED who is in their custody.
- Police HQ is literally across the street from the hospital entrance. But because it was cold outside the patient did not want to walk across the street after being released on a summons.

The officer I had my dialogue with agreed and told us we could clear up to get coverage back in our county. An officer I never met or spoke with, who was in the room, filed the complaint stating I had an 'attitude'. However, he could not provide detail as to what was perceived as an 'attitude'.

I wholeheartedly agree with each of you who go out of your way for our officers and firefighters.

I tend not to smile partly because of an experience I had when I was young. 911 was called for my mother who has a hx of SVT. The provider walked in with this smile on his face and it rubbed me the wrong way. It came across to me as if he didn't take my mothers emergency serious. I remember asking my dad "what is he smiling about, what is funny?" I never wanted to come across the same. I will smile and nod, but after I know what is going on.

 

[Ewok Jerky]

Something made this guy call your supervisor. I don't know what, or why. But if I were in this situation I would think about what I could have done differently that would have prevented me from being in my supe's office getting talked at. I'm not saying you deserved it or did anything wrong, I dont k is I wasn't there, but YOU are the one who's attitude came into question.

Maybe the lesson is that this guy is a dink and you need to tread lightly around him, or maybe there I'd a different approach to the situation that you could use next time.

FWIW- a mutual aid call is as important as any call regardless of your staffing levels. That is dispatch's problem not yours.

 

[Tigger]

eh...im not overly happy smiling 24/7 either but i am nice...
not sure i agree with customers patients supporting revenue because how many actually pay? (at least in my area) but that isnt a reason or excuse to act like an a**hole.
Sometimes we/I have to be stern with patients because they will ramble all day long and be indecisive but I always try to come off as supportive if that makes any sense.
Just try a little harder to be "nice" whatever that means because im not sure how you are...at the end of the day im sure you need that job so jumping through some hoops might be necessary

I would like to think that the better I treat a patient, the more likely they are to pay.

Not to mention where I work we are funded by our residents' tax dollars via mill levy.

 

[Angel]

well yea, it helps if they have $$, where im at the majority or near close to all are poor...not saying i treat them like crap, but i dont think how they are treated will make them more or less likely to pay.

 

[Chewy20]

well yea, it helps if they have $$, where im at the majority or near close to all are poor...not saying i treat them like crap, but i dont think how they are treated will make them more or less likely to pay.

Second that, they will either pay or not pay knowing that it will hurt their credit eventually, not whether or not you smiled at them.

 

[Tigger]

Second that, they will either pay or not pay knowing that it will hurt their credit eventually, not whether or not you smiled at them.

I've got plenty of poor people where I am at that are on self pay plans that pay there bills because they actually believe in the service we provide.

Also this all beside the point of the thread.

 

[okiemedic]

Sometimes I want to throw down on my patients. Like last week. I had an elderly lady who was very altered. She kept telling me she wetted herself. I told her she had a Foley in. She then wiped her vagina then wiped it on my arm. Then asked me if it was wet. Did I scream WTF!! In my head? Yes, then remembered she was altered....

I then came home... showered six times then took out my rage in video games....

Now I laugh about it...lol

 

[Carlos Danger]

Sometimes I want to throw down on my patients. Like last week. I had an elderly lady who was very altered. She kept telling me she wetted herself. I told her she had a Foley in. She then wiped her vagina then wiped it on my arm. Then asked me if it was wet. Did I scream WTF!! In my head? Yes, then remembered she was altered....

I then came home... showered six times then took out my rage in video games....

Now I laugh about it...lol

Sometimes you want to fight confused, elderly women?

 

[DieselBolus]

Sometimes I want to throw down on my patients. Like last week. I had an elderly lady who was very altered. She kept telling me she wetted herself. I told her she had a Foley in. She then wiped her vagina then wiped it on my arm. Then asked me if it was wet. Did I scream WTF!! In my head? Yes, then remembered she was altered....

I then came home... showered six times then took out my rage in video games....

Now I laugh about it...lol

Ignoring how outrageously stupid that whole post is, if you can't dodge a casual wipe, you definitely shouldn't engage in fisticuffs.

Also, did you look to see if her Foley was leaking? It very well could have been, and you could have taken 10 seconds to make her more comfortable with a quick wipe..unless of course youre afraid of the aged human body.

 

[okiemedic]

Ignoring how outrageously stupid that whole post is, if you can't dodge a casual wipe, you definitely shouldn't engage in fisticuffs.

Also, did you look to see if her Foley was leaking? It very well could have been, and you could have taken 10 seconds to make her more comfortable with a quick wipe..unless of course youre afraid of the aged human body.

It wasn't leaking..

She was very altered. After she did it she casually asked me if I go to church... then went on a rage about George Washington lol...

 

[NomadicMedic]

I had an old, very altered guy spit directly in my face.

In. My. Face.

I was pissed, but I didn't to want to hit him.

He got soft restraints and a spit sock.

It's not about you. These folks know not what they do.