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Mystery Shopping in the Healthcare Industry

 

Medical mystery shopping has been around for quite some time; however, it has gained momentum as of late. In fact, The American Medical Association is still considering endorsing mystery shopping. Many people feel that it may be intrusive to the real patients in a clinic or hospital. However, when done properly, this is simply not true. Outlined below are some FAQ’s about Medical Mystery Shopping you might find interesting:

 

1. How do the shoppers judge clinical skills? Shoppers are evaluating interpersonal skills rather than clinical skills. We are evaluating the overall experience of the visit from the first phone call to make the appointment, to the actual visit. How friendly was the staff? What was the wait time? Was the call placed on hold, and for how long? This can be done with a variety of scenarios, such as a new patient visit, walk-in visit, physician interview and telephone inquiries.

 

2. How does HIPPA play into mystery shopping? The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act includes strict requirements regarding privacy.  We are very careful not to capture any information about another patient. Rather, the entire report is geared to the shopper’s own unique visit. This is the reason we would never use video or audio devices on an onsite visit.

 

3. What happens if the office is unusually busy because of high demand or an emergency situation? The shopper is trained not to wait during these conditions. They will leave and make another appointment for another time. It is never our intention to intrude on treatment of real patients.

 

4. How far does the treatment go? Shoppers will generally present a situation that does not involve invasive procedures of any kind. This can include a new physician interview, basic physical, employment physical, and other simple, non-invasive procedures.

 

5. What types of facilities can be mystery shopped? Mystery shopping is not only limited to doctor’s offices. Other facilities that have used mystery shopping services include urgent care centers, walk-in clinics, hospitals, plastic surgeons, optometrists and ophthalmologists, dentists, med-spas, managed care groups, insurance providers, individual and group practices, practice management consultants, medical marketing firms, healthcare manufacturers, nursing homes and assisted living communities.

 

6. Why is medical mystery shopping becoming so popular? Because people are starting to shop around for their health care. A rude office employee or nurse can cause a new patient to think twice before continuing with the clinic. Consistently long wait times can do the same. Doctors could be losing patients without ever really understanding why. Doctors are in business too. They need to be able to utilize the same customer satisfaction tools used by other industries to ensure accountability among their staff, increase business, and maintain patient loyalty.

 

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Do You Cause Friction?

 

Friction as it relates to the customer experience is the newest buzzword, and it’s a simple concept to grasp. Friction, simply put, is any obstacle that gets in the way of your customers doing business with you, whether it’s making a purchase, getting the information they need, or providing you with information that will help make their future experiences better.

 

Here are some examples of friction in the customer’s world:

 

1. Shelves poorly arranged or organized, with no visible staff available to help – this makes it hard to purchase items customers need the most

 

2. Lengthy process to join a loyalty program, especially at the point of sale – I was recently in a shoe store and they asked if I’d like to join their loyalty program. After taking the cashier up on the offer, I spent the next five minutes providing her with all of my pertinent information. I regretted accepting the invitation and felt bad for the customers waiting in line behind me.

 

3. If your customer feedback program isn’t getting the response you’d like, are you making the survey too long, causing friction? Make it easy for customers to tell you what they think of your business.

 

4. A long checkout process for web orders. Make it easy for customers to make their purchases. Keep all of the pertinent information, such as delivery cost and time frame, at the beginning of the purchase transaction so it’s clear from the beginning. Don’t surprise customers at the final moment of submitting payment information – this type of friction can lose a sale.

 

These are some basic examples of friction in the customer experience. It’s a good idea to periodically review your stores, procedures, and processes for providing customer service from a devil’s advocate perspective to ensure that you are not creating friction for your customers.

 

 

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Video Series: Solution To Reduced Staff & Customer Assistance

 

With retailers facing reduced staffing resources, it’s important to make sure customer satisfaction levels stay high. Showrooming is also another real concern – if customers are browsing in your stores and can’t get the help and/or products they need, they will turn to online companies or your direct competitors.

 

One solution to this challenge is utilizing a Customer Engagement Console – we recently launched a video series on this newest service offering, as it has many capabilities and uses. If you missed the first segment, you can find it in the original posting.

 

The second installment of the series focuses on this very challenge – how to keep service levels strong while facing staff reduction. The Customer Engagement Console can serve as a virtual assistant. Place it in high traffic areas near products or services that may require assistance to choose the product specific to a need, and a series of questions can guide customers to the correct product without any sales staff needed!

 

Take a look at the latest video in our series, and be sure to check back often for new releases!

 

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