Last month, an extended family member needed to get a surgery in a hospital. After the surgery went well and the patient went back home, I spoke with the family member that accompanied the patient about the whole process and experience. Then, I heard the following capturing quote “We felt like we were the only patient and had the full attention of the doctors”. That sounds quite comforting honestly. Wow.
I would never compare healthcare to doing business — and I do not. I just thought at some point though how many times I have felt that I am not even a priority for a vendor — let alone have full attention. One of the most prominent examples is waiting in line for minutes to talk with a bank representative to allow a blocked transfer of money from our bank account to another bank account of ours, but in another bank.
There are even subtle use cases though. One is, replying to a client’s email in more than a business day. Another is when someone needs to leave a meeting early because of another priority. Of course, we have all had our meetings rescheduled last minute for a reason that has nothing to do with us. I plead guilty to having done some of these a few times in the past. I know because I have heard from lovely and understanding clients words like “We know you are super busy doing tons of things at LOGIC, it’s OK that this happened”. It does not have to and it should not be like that.
I am really grateful for the clients we have, but I want both them and our product customers to feel like they are the only ones we have to deal with when they need us. This means being consistent with what and when we deliver, respond in reasonable and reliable time frames to every request and of course when interacting, giving our complete attention for the full time span that we interact together.
This is one of the many ways to build trust. Making everyone trusting your company with their hard-earned money to feel they have the full attention, when needed. Because after all, trust is nothing more than a feeling, hard to earn and easy to lose.
