Consistency Works

Many years ago I worked with a home care agency that was very concerned about making sure all of its locations provided the same quality service. The president embarked on the task of researching chain restaurants to see what made them successful. He quickly learned it was all about consistency.

Each location of the chain restaurant had the same menu, the food was served in the same manner and person at the cash register greeted customers with exactly the same message. Focusing on that consistency, the agency president wanted the referral source to receive the same service no matter who picked up the telephone, who went into patients' homes or who customers worked with in handling their payments.

In other words, the McDonald's in Paris is exactly the same as the one in St. Louis, and the customer knows exactly what they will receive regardless of the location. That sesame seed bun is the same in every location of the world. And we came to realize the phone in the back office could be answered in the same way.

Neither the time of day, the location nor the company representative should alter what your customer comes to expect. So how does that work in your home care company? Can you enhance the consistency factor in your business to improve the quality of your brand?

• Consistency in the way the phone is answered

  Try answering the phone with the exact same greeting: “Good morning, A and A Medical. This is Louis. May I help you?” Include those four elements each time you pick up the phone: the greeting, the company name, your name and the question, “How may I help you?”

  If employees cannot remember to be consistent with this greeting, leave a card by the telephone as a reminder to everyone who might pick up the phone when a customer calls.

• Consistency in the attitude of the staff

  In the home care business, there is not time or allowance for a bad day. The customer is counting on you. Add that smile to your greeting, whether answering the telephone or greeting someone who comes into your store. The attitude of the staff must be warm and inviting regardless of the pressures in the office or any problems you are experiencing. You might not get a second chance to make that first impression.

• Consistency in the day and time you call upon accounts

  When making a sales call plan, do everything you can to meet with or visit key accounts on a regular basis on the same day. If you are visiting a major clinic on a Thursday afternoon, try to visit that same clinic every week or every other Thursday afternoon. Sometimes when they expect you to arrive, there may be business waiting for you.

  Build as much consistency in your sales call planning as you can. That might make it easier to get in the door.

• Consistency in store hours

  Keep your schedule of store hours. You do not want your customer to have driven a long distance only to find you decided to close early or not to open that day. And, if your store is open for business till 5:30 p.m., greet the customer at 5:25 p.m. with the same enthusiasm as you would if it were 10:30 a.m.

• Consistency in reliability

  That reminder says it all. Keep your promises, do what you say you are going to do and don't disappoint the customer. Caregivers, health care professionals and patients are relying on you. Discharges from hospital care count on your being there; patients may be home waiting for deliveries or people concerned about their bills may be waiting to hear from you.