Blog Post: Is the Customer Always Right?

Is the Customer Always Right?

I presume that the title of this article will, even without reading below this line, cause people to immediately take a position.  After all, we’ve been told and taught the for years that the way to keep Customers happy and loyal to their service provider is to ensure they feel “right”, right?

Well, no…not in the business of In Home Senior Care.  And it’s a big issue; one that impacts every stakeholder in the Case Management scenario.  In an “average” case (there is really no such thing, but I need to use something as a model) the following “Customers” all want to feel satisfied that their voices are being heard:

1.      The Client or person to receive care

2.      The Spouse or Domestic Partner of the Client

3.      The Referral Source – the person or company that referred the case to our Agency

4.      The insurance company or “Payer”

5.      The Family members

6.      The family Physician

7.      Case Partners such as Hospice, Therapists, Healthcare Providers

8.      Case Manager or Trust Attorney

9.      Home Care Agency management

10. The Caregiver

There could be many more Stakeholders, depending on the case; but let’s run with these ten players.  As you read through the list, does your mind run to all the possible definitions of success?  Each “player” may define success differently and each will have their own “hot buttons”.  Push all the buttons correctly and everyone feels “Right” and all is good in the universe, but wait……….

The Client may wish to eat Raisin Bran for breakfast this morning.  That’s not a problem except that the Physician has prescribed a Low Fiber/Low Residue diet and bran is definitely not on the menu.  It is only breakfast cereal, but to a Senior that feels like he is losing more and more of his ability to make his own decisions, it is an important battle.  Okay, a good Caregiver should be able to negotiate this one away, but wait, there’s more…

Some other “Not Rights” come to mind quickly. 

·         The Case Manager demands just one Caregiver on the case for training reasons, but the Spouse needs care to run 7 days a week.   This means that we will need at least two Caregivers.  Did the Agency ignore the Manager’s wishes?

·         The Family has expressed the need for the Caregiver to dispense medications, but the law in this state specifically precludes this.  Medication reminders and providing already dosed meds are the rule here.  Sure, there are many solutions to this, but why won’t the Caregiver “just do as she was told?”

·         The Physical Therapy Partner wants to complete range-of-motion exercises with the Client every other Thursday at noon, but the Case Manager has already scheduled supervisory visits at noon on Thursdays.  “Why are you making scheduling a problem for me?”

When you add in all of the many needs and wants of each of the stakeholders, it can become an unhappy mess pretty quickly if we do not all get it agreed upon at the case startup and routinely throughout the care period.

Each has competing objectives as well as complimentary ones.  One method of solving the mystery is to have an Ultimate Authority.  At Right at Home ® of North Phoenix , our Ultimate Authority is the Care Book.  Each case has a book where all the questions above and many more are addressed. 

Additionally, the book is available to all the Stakeholders so each Player has a reasonable expectation of what is going to happen.  It also provides for a good reason or explanation when one of the Stakeholders needs to know “why I, the Customer, is being told that I cannot have what I want” at the moment it is asked.

Ensuring all Players are in full agreement that the Care Book will be reviewed by all, will be updated when anything of a material nature changes and will be the tool with which conflicts are settled will save you a lot of loud conversations and angry feelings.

We all have a responsibility to our Client and cannot ever forget that we are here to support a group of wonderful people that are often less heard than they deserve.  Seniors in today’s America call on professional In-Home Care companies like Right at Home® so they can Maintain Their Independence.  In doing so, we need to ensure they feel heard and understand their new world, this one where there are lots of people working as diligently as possible to help them continue to reside at home since home is where Seniors have the ability to maintain the most independence in their lives.

Glen Davis, PMP is an author and a Baby Boomer that has spent much of his life assisting others with his work, beginning in the Air Force, through his position as a VP in the Fortune 500. 

Glen provides Seniors and Disabled Persons qualified, trained, bonded, insured and screened Caregivers to his clients in the North Phoenix/Scottsdale area as owner of Right at Home® of North Phoenix. 

gdavis@rah-phx.com | www.rah-phx.com | 602-569-7240