By Jay Juffre
If you read this column on a regular basis, you know I travel a ton for business. It is funny how people who don’t travel for work vs. those who do, have a completely different perspective on the activity. Those who don’t, generally think it’s awesome. “Wow, it must be neat to visit and explore all those cities.” Those who do, know it is typically a mundane combination of airports, hotels, rental car centers, and business meetings. Recently I was on business in Kentucky of all places. I flew in on Monday. Two airports, check. Got my vehicle. Rent-a-car center, check. Arrived at the hotel, check. After I put my clothes away and settled in my room, I started making some phone calls. After four calls in, there was a knock on my door. I looked through the peephole to see an employee of the hotel. When I opened the door, I was greeted with a simple. “Mr. Juffre? The general manager wanted to welcome you and give you this” and handed me an envelope. I opened the envelope expecting to find a simple card or something unremarkable, but they did better than that. Instead, inside were two things. First, a personalized, handwritten note, thanking me for staying and for my loyalty to the chain. Secondly, was a coupon for a free breakfast (which included tip). Mind you, this was not at their hotel or their breakfast, but across the street at an even nicer venue. I was impressed. The same is true of patient care. Look for you and your teams to somehow make it personal. Too often, going to the doctor is like business travel: mundane and repetitive. Organizations that look for simple ways to go above and beyond are the ones that are winning. You would be surprised how little things mean a ton and can go a long way!
Jay Juffre is Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff, ImageFIRST. For more information on ImageFIRST, call 1-800-932-7472 or visit www.imagefirst.com.
