Customer service is on the decline in many areas. Ophthalmology shouldn’t be one of them.

I was reading an article recently on customer service, or the lack of it these days, and what that means for the customer experience. Whenever there is an article on this topic, invariably the Nordstrom Company is mentioned and this article proved that point. Nordstrom, of course, has been well known for its willingness to go beyond the normal levels of service to satisfy their customers. All employees are left with the directive to “Serve and be kind.”

The article went on to say how a general decrease in high levels of customer service has resulted in an ever-increasing level of dissatisfaction and outright anger among consumers. It got me thinking of how we do regarding customer service in our practice and in ophthalmology in general. We are fortunate in ophthalmology that we are able to most often satisfy the needs of our patients and meet or often exceed their expectations. That being said, there is always room for improvement.

There also seems to be erosion of customer service that just invariably happens over time. Nordstrom is, once again, a good example for this. The days of sales associates doing amazing things to make clients happy are generally a thing of the past. Corporate focus and the challenges of generating profits have dampened those levels of service. I’ve seen it happen in our office, too. The emphasis on seeing more patients in the clinic or getting more surgeries done each hour in the ASC all have a negative impact on the patient experience. Those pressures are not going away anytime soon.

Fortunately, it doesn’t take that much to bring great customer service back. As physicians we are in a great position to affect the level of customer service in our practices. Communicating a sincere apology to the patient when there has been a breakdown in service, such as a long wait, can go a long way to recover their sense of satisfaction with the service received. Most people respond positively to a sincere effort to acknowledge their frustrations. Nordstrom has it right when they say, “Serve and be kind.” ■