“I always say, let’s blame systems and processes first, then people second. Well thought-out systems and processes are there to ensure consistency. A habit is all about investing in constant efforts to make incremental progress”.
Same airline both ways, worlds apart in their service delivery. Why? Why did the crew who was serving our cabin made the experience an unforgettable one? And I mean a negative one not to forget! I, not only kept asking myself the ‘why’ and ‘how can this be acceptable?’ It was also the topic of conversation throughout my stay as people asked ‘how was your flight?’ guess what my answer was.
Now as I sit here on my 7hr journey back home, I am smiling, relieved to have a lovely crew member who not only welcomed me and every guest that past her with an honest welcome and with a smile but also made sure we were ´comfortable´ during the journey.
So why such different approach when it is the same service provider? Why do some team members do what’s needed or better yet what is expected of their role and some even go beyond? And some don’t?
Whilst we can make an extensive list of reasons or excuses, in my opinion is the lack of consistency.
I always say, let’s blame systems and processes first, then people second. Well thought-out systems and processes are there to ensure consistency. A habit is all about investing in constant efforts to make incremental progress. Let’s compare consistency habits between two orthodontic practices that I have personally worked with.
| Practice A A non-consistent approach | Practice B Consistency is key in their approach |
| No regular staff meetings When they do have them, a blame culture and negativity dominate the meetings and often an authoritarian approach is used. | Regular staff meetings to discuss what works what doesn’t and to plan any changes accordingly. They also use these meetings for training purposes. |
| Processes are there but haven’t been assessed or changed for a very long time…years in most cases. | Processes are reviewed periodically with key team members empowered to do so for different areas of the practice. |
| Some staff are amazing at their jobs whilst others are allowed to bring morale down by not pulling their weight, by not giving their best when working. | Whilst some staff need more encouragement than others, they have periodic staff reviews together with team building exercises. |
| The principal orthodontist is tired of repeating themselves about the need for consistency and therefore gives up hope. | The principal orthodontist uses not only staff meetings and staff reviews, but also specific objectives and KPI’s to ensure the desired result is achieved. |
| Are not keen on patient feedback or reviews and therefore avoids them at all cost. | Actively encourages patients for their feedback and reviews. |
Practices need to develop processes in place to ensure that every member of the team including clinicians, foster an ethical hunger for progress, efficiency and professionalism. Consistency creates trust. When patients experience excellent service over and over again, they will trust you will do the same with people they refer to you and they will soon become ambassadors for your practice. However, if the service they receive is not consistent and patient expectations are somewhat fragmented, their trust will be the same.
Ask yourself, “if I was to ask ALL of my patients to rate the consistency of our service we provide: 1 being very bad, 2 being 50/50 and 3 being excellent”. What do you think the results would be? Wouldn’t you want to know?
Would I take the same airline again, not if I can’t help it. Why? because it isn’t the first time I experienced their poor service. So why would I expose myself to an uncomfortable experience when I have more choice? Orthodontic patients are no different. They too have a choice. Your job is to make sure that their choice is your practice not the competitors.
