When the staff of Conestoga Eye made strategic changes to their customer service, the practice saw referrals increase 10 percent. In this interview, senior administrator Heather Modjesky shares why they did it.

Modjesky will join Conestoga Eye's owner David I. Silbert, MD for a 60-minute webinar July 25 on how you and your staff can develop a culture of excellent customer service.

What drove your practice to change their customer service?

Conestoga Eye opened in October of 2015 and we knew from its inception that we wanted to have a sincere focus on patient care that people could feel this when they walked into the practice. Perception versus reality can be two very different things, and we knew very well that patients can perceive one thing when the reality can be very different. Dr. Silbert is a pediatric ophthalmologist, so the largest complaints we faced before Conestoga Eye’s opening were wait times and the “consideration that was shown to the patient” as they perceived it. We knew that Conestoga Eye needed to be a practice where all our language, actions and interactions with patients matched our reality - furthering the health and vision care of our patients.

What was the most surprising or unexpected result from changing your customer service delivery?

The most surprising thing that continues to come out of our actions is the immediate change in patient behavior. Patient’s (and parents) who in one moment are surly and curt become thoughtful and apologetic when the team employs our customer service tactics. Then those same patients become our top referring families.

How did you get buy-in from management and staff?

The staff needs to feel like everyone, even the doctors, are on a team with them. The staff need to feel like partners in customer service changes and like they are driving those changes in a sense. You cannot thrust customer service rules upon them. Listen to your team’s suggestions for better customer service and implement ideas that will work for your practice. Praise them in front of the team when they have a great interaction with a patient. Positive reinforcement is the key to heartfelt customer service.

Do you have any added pearls for those hesitating to take the plunge?

Great customer service is infectious and can positively impact the overall atmosphere in your practice. The ideals set forth in your customer service policy become ideals for your team to live up to and have pride in. Like everything we do, we take risks; some of those risks succeed and others fail. Don’t be afraid to try new customer service protocols, but make sure that you clearly communicate to the staff the changes and how utterly important they are to those policies’ success.