There’s been a lot of talk around the office lately about customer service – mostly spurred on by poor service we’ve all received from different merchants throughout the area. We’re all astounded when we receive truly poor customer service, in part, I suppose, because we make exceptional service our top priority here at ACPS Clear Lake.

It starts with that first phone call – a smile in the voice, attentive listening, getting the caller all the answers they need to take the next step. Then they walk through the door. Whether they are a returning patient or a new consultation, we want everyone who comes through our doors to be greeted with a smile and a hearty hello. We try to keep wait-time to a minimum, both in the waiting area and the exam room. We strive to keep the office comfortable, neat and welcoming, and we hope everyone who visits feels at home. We pay attention to the details, because in the end, it’s the little things that make the biggest difference between a good experience and a great one.

It’s all written into every job description we have here at ACPS Clear Lake – from the surgeon to the receptionist and everyone in between. We know it’s all about our patients, and it isn’t that hard to make people our priority. All we have to do is care.

So why isn’t customer service the first job of every business we encounter? That’s what has us flustered here. But then I take a look at our society as a whole, and what I see missing is that one key ingredient – caring. Today’s society doesn’t seem to even care enough about their neighbors to be polite, much less go out of their way to offer excellent service.

Once it was a matter of pride – being able to say your customer service was exemplary. Now, it doesn’t seem to phase businesses when their customers complain, and that’s just a shame.

But it goes both ways. I think good businesses should also be able to count on their customers to be polite as well. It is so disheartening in our office when customers don’t take the time to cancel an appointment they can’t make or to call when they will be late. It feels as if our time just isn’t that important to them, and we all want to feel as if we matter.

I’m not sure what the answer is to society’s critical loss of etiquette and manners, and I’m sad to say I don’t think the next generation is being raised to fix the problem. Long gone are the days of “Yes, ma’am,” “No, ma’am,” “Thank you,” and “Please.”

But as for ACPS Clear Lake, we will continue to try to earn the high praise we receive from patients for our customer service and to take pride in that job well done.

Want to learn more about ACPS Clear Lake? call 713-799-9999.