I've been in this industry for 30 years now, and I have lost track of how many major changes have occurred. Policies are put in place, modified, rescinded and reinstituted. Things have come full circle so many times I'm dizzy. And if you look at the big picture, you can always count on the government's expecting home medical equipment providers to do more while paying them less.
The newest policies coming down the road prove my point. Not only will reimbursement rates be lowered by competitive bidding but the new capped rental policies will shorten your residual income stream. Filling the front end of the revenue pipeline with new orders and incremental revenue will be more essential than ever if you want to survive.
This environment will cause two things to become paramount to your success: The first is the need to capture every possible order that comes your way. The second is the need to maximize the revenue potential of every order you process.
The pressure for both falls completely on your customer service representatives, because every mistake on incoming phone calls could cost you revenue. Remember that all your marketing efforts are for naught if 20 percent of our incoming orders are lost or mishandled. Reducing the errors and getting your CSRs to generate incremental revenues from the business opportunities already coming your way is imperative. How much better would your bottom line look if every new order had an additional $100 of accessory sales?
I've been conducting “secret shopper” surveys since 1990 as a way to verify the effectiveness of customer service training and diagnose where remedial training is needed. Even after all of the errors have been corrected, the residual effect on staffers that each phone call they answer could be a test helps assure they are on their best performance and don't slip back into bad habits.
Over the years, I've seen some common mistakes that can easily be corrected with training. If you haven't listened to your CSRs lately, it's time. Here are the five most important areas to examine.
- Not asking for the order
No one wakes up one morning and says, “I have nothing better to do, so I think I will call around and price wheelchairs.” If someone calls your office and asks about wheelchairs, you can bet they need one, and anything short of providing them with one is a failure. Yet all too often, employees hand out tons of information, then fail to ask the caller if they'd like to place the order.
We malign used car salespeople, but they have a tactic you should consider. They're always asking, “What will it take to get you in this car today?” If the caller or patient will not commit after you've found out the need, suggested a suitable product and then asked for the order; there's something you missed. Ask the caller, “Is there some question or issue I have not addressed that is preventing you from placing this order?”
Asking for and capturing the sale in every potential order situation is the only way to make sure the revenue pipeline remains filled.
- Quoting prices without adequate information
Sometimes we'll call a company and say, “My father is coming to visit and we'd like to rent a wheelchair for a month. How much is it?” The CSR instantly quotes a price for a standard wheelchair. But when father shows up, you find he's actually in need of a power chair with special features.
Customer service personnel can fall into the habit of simply taking orders and not fully thinking through a process. The caller should first be assured his problems will be addressed. Then the CSR should immediately begin narrowing down the vast range of possibilities to the precise products, services and payment situation that fits the patient's needs. Only after all of these factors have been determined should the subject of end-user costs be discussed.
- Making callers jump through hoops
This one drives me crazy. Customer service people will tell callers THEY need to call their doctor, and THEY need to get a prescription and THEY will have to fax in the information. It would be much more effective for the CSR to say, “Let me call your doctor for you and take care of getting this arranged.”
People frequent restaurants largely for the ease and pleasure of simply ordering what they want to eat and having it magically appear on their plate. Would you eat at a restaurant if the waiter told you, “You have to prepare your own food, serve it yourself and then clean up the dishes when you're done?” Of course not!
So it is with patients who have far more pressing things on their minds. If you make it too difficult for them to give you their business, they will find someone else who will make it easier.
By taking the initiative and becoming a patient advocate, your CSR can help secure the order for your business and elevate your reputation as a caring and service-oriented company.
- Not offering accessory products
The best place to find incremental revenue to build is with the existing customers you have and the phone calls that are already coming in. Almost every product you provide suggests ancillary products that can help the patient's treatment and recovery, which, incidentally, will also help your revenue line.
You certainly don't want to force equipment and products onto patients for the sake of generating extra revenue, but if you truly identify a need (such as a wheelchair cushion, underpads or disinfectants) that will make your patients more comfortable and make their lives easier, don't you owe it to them to share the information and ask if they want to buy the product? The fact that this increases your revenue is a happy by-product of addressing important patient needs.
Once you've instructed your customer service staff — and perhaps provided them with reminder sheets of available accessories for all your regularly ordered products — a secret shopper survey can identify whether your employees are not looking out for patient needs and offering solutions. The staffers who are not offering accessory products may not feel comfortable “selling” to callers, but a bit of remedial training can get them over those fears. Here's a comforting phrase they may want to follow: “Sell them everything you can, but only what they really need.”
- Accepting assignment without diagnosis
It is a laudable practice to take every order, but if you accept a Medicare oxygen patient without first finding out whether he qualifies, someone from your company will eventually have to call the doctor or the patient and do some embarrassing and apologetic tap-dancing.
Asking questions about Medicare coverage criteria and whether the patient has previously had equipment is more important than ever. There's a real chance in the near future that patients and referral sources will be “shopping” for unsuspecting or sloppy suppliers who will provide them services that others have refused or dropped. You don't want to be the one holding the empty reimbursement bag.
Your staff's questions don't have to sound like an interrogation or feel like the third degree, but your CSRs should have a clear and logical process to follow. Every time you make major changes in procedures or any time there are changes in payer rules, listen to what your service staff is saying to your customers to make sure the message is communicated correctly.
The only products or resources you have that your competition doesn't have or cannot get are the people who work for you. Assuring your CSRs are the best means you have to hire the right people, make sure they are fully trained on the most up-to-date payer rules and regulations — and then verify that they properly implement the changes that will keep you successful.
Based in Lubbock, Texas, Henry Wolford has more than 30 years of health care management experience in all aspects of the industry. Known for his secret shopper surveys, Wolford also is a book author, including How to Pad Your Expense Account … and Get Away with It, available through Amazon.com. He can be reached at 806/543-5215 or through his Web site at www.henrywolford.com.
