Conflict resolution means having to say you're sorry (Proceedings)

Not many things can ruin our perfect day as fast and as completely as an unhappy client. It's not enough that they sit there and complain and argue, often leaving one of our loyal and usually happy team members in tears, but they insist on doing so smack in the middle of the reception area, during the busiest time of the day, right in front of our other clients! We've all had to deal with these gems, and for me it is one of the most unenjoyable parts of practice. Additionally, Murphy's Law often dictates that these vocal complainers will not be satisfied speaking to anyone but the practice manager or, as often happens in my case, the BOSS (which would be me)!

I've learned many things over the years, and one major lesson I've learned is how important communication is to the smooth, effective, running of a hospital. Without a doubt, most of the problems we have to deal with in practice, be they staff issues, patient care issues, or client issues, result from breakdowns in communication. Good communication is key! I'm sure this is no surprise!! As with any successful relationship, trust and open communication are paramount. To prevent these problems, make sure your clients truly understand your game plan, your post-visit instructions, estimated fees, etc. Make sure all your support staff is also very aware and familiar with your hospital cases and that they understand all of the doctor's orders. And, almost more important than trying to avoid these problems and communication breakdowns, is how you deal with them when they arise.

This brings up another important lesson I've learned--that conflict resolution, as we like to call it, is definitely an art—one that really needs to be mastered in order to restore peace and harmony into the practice. There are many aspects to effective conflict resolution that need to be learned, yet as with any skill, practice makes perfect. This becomes our proverbial "Catch 22," in that in order to practice this skill to get good at, means that we have to have a lot of fires to put out—in other words, having more unhappy clients than we'd ever dream of wanting to have. But, in reality, the longer you practice and the more clients you see, the more problems you will have, and, unfortunately, the more opportunity to master this "art." The ultimate goal is that by the time you finally master this art, you and your staff will be so well trained and in tune with each other that there will be no more communication breakdowns, and therefore no more unhappy clients to practice your mastered art on! (Yeah right—don't hold your breath!)

Okay, down to business! How good of a listener are you? How HUMBLE are you??? How badly do you want to keep the client/patient? As I mentioned, the art of putting these client "fires" out is certainly worth developing. Let's face it, no matter how hard we try or how good we are, mistakes will happen, so the better you are at this skill, the less permanent client relationship damage you will experience. One of the basics of conflict resolution is to never challenge a client--especially in the reception area. As I'm sure you can imagine, the last place you want an angry or upset client to be is in your crowded reception room. Instruct your front or technical staff that at the first hint of a client becoming upset or nasty, they should quickly escort that client into an examination room or an office to "better assist and serve them." Once alone with the client, find out from him/her what the problem is, and what, if anything, has been done to rectify it. One valuable (and financially sound) lesson I've learned is to let the client do the talking first, and you simply do the listening. Try to practice active listening where you repeat what you've just heard, or at least what you think you've just heard: "Let me make sure I understand, Mrs. Smith, you're upset because......" This allows the client to actually hear what they've just said. After listening, sympathize/empathize with your client, let them now how you understand why they are so upset or disappointed (this does not admit guilt or necessary wrongdoing on you or your staff's part), then let them know how sorry you are that they are so upset, how much you value their relationship, and how important it is to you that they leave happy or satisfied. At this point it is actually okay to ask what you can do for them to ensure that they do leave happy or, at least, satisfied. Let them tell you what they think would be fair and will make them happy, don't start offering them the world. I've found that most people are fairly reasonable and will ask for less than you would have been willing to give. Try the best you can to resolve all issues! It's very important to evaluate the trade-off, and determine both the financial and goodwill "worth" to each client's relationship to your practice. Remember, a dissatisfied client will tell at least 7 people of their negative experience!!

Unless this particular client has a history of being difficult or rude to your staff, it is generally not worth allowing them to leave with unresolved issues. Conversely, when a client sees how much you've gone out of your way to make sure they leave happy, the bond they have with your practice actually strengthens.

What about firing a client? This is something that many of us have had to do—though it's usually not pleasant. When necessary, the first thing I recommend is to prepare a complete copy of the client's file, including all notes, laboratory work, and radiographs, reports, etc. I then also prepare a list of hospitals in the area to recommend to the client, something which is actually required in some states, and then, after some discussion, present these to the client. What I like to do is to partly take the blame for the problems so the client will leave without any ill feelings. I might say to a client how important it is for me in practice to try and make my clients and my patients happy, and how personally I take it when I fail. I tell the client that when they are unhappy or dissatisfied, nobody wins, and that there is no reason that we should all be feeling as badly as we do. I then tell the client that I truly feel that he or she deserves to be happy, and since it is obvious that we have not been able to achieve that, he or she would probably be better off at another hospital which might be better able to meet their needs. I then hand them the list and let them know that I would make myself completely available to speak with the new doctor if there were any questions about the patient in the future. Two of my clients were so shocked when I did this, they refused to take the records and promised that they would be better with my staff, and not complain so much anymore. To this day, they've kept their promise!

Next time you find yourself trying to back pedal and solve a client problem, remember those short, easy, words—"I'm sorry!"