Customer Service in

Emergency Communications
John Britto Assistant Medical Officer U29
Hospital Seberang Jaya - Penang

Introduction
We usually think about customer service in terms of how quickly we get served at a
restaurant or whether a store assistant gives us a hard time when we try to return a
piece of clothing that doesnt fit. When we think about good customer service in Malaysia,
Air Asia and McDonald Malaysia are the two businesses that come most readily to mind.
But what does customer service have to do with public safety communications? But think
about it for a minute. Has your agency received any of the following types of complaints?

The call taker I spoke with was very rude.

I got the feeling that the call taker did not care about my situation.
The call taker was very unprofessional.
The radio dispatcher has an attitude problem.

These complaints may seem vague,but they all deal with the same factor :-CUSTOMER SERVICE.

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Introduction
Weve heard about customer service, but we may not know the definition or understand
how it applies to public safety communications. In fact, a single definition of customer
service does not exist. It can be defined as an activity, a performance measurement
and/or a philosophy. So customer service :

Is the ability to provide a service or product in the way that it has been promised;
Is about treating others as you would like to be treated yourself;
Is an organizations ability to supply its customers wants and needs;
Describes the process of taking care of customers in a positive manner;
Is any contact between a customer and a company that causes a negative or positive
perception by a customer;
Is a process for providing a competitive advantage and adding
benefits in order to maximize the
total value to the customer; and
Is the commitment to providing value added services to external and internal customers and
involves attitude, knowledge, technical support and quality of service in a timely manner.

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Goals
Provide the highest level of customer
service to the community
Enhance the image our department and
public services

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Objectives

Understand the concept of customer service

Define who our customers are
Avoid the common pitfalls
Examine the potential benefits

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Objectives
Explain the ways customer service can
affect us
Improve communication skills
Provide a higher level of customer service

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Customer Service - Defined

What is customer service?

An organizations abilities to
supply their customers wants
and needs
Does this go far enough? or should we exceed customers
expectations?... And provide excellent customer service
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Customer Wants and Needs

What do our customers want?
Make a list
Someone to Help Them
Timely Response
Sympathy
Courtesy
Understanding
A Solution to their
Problem!
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The Customer Service Model

Provide best possible service to Customers

Always be Nice
Execute standard problem solving outcome
Regard everyone as a Customer
Consider how/what you are doings looks
Dont disqualify Customer w/ your Qualifications
Customer centered Organizational Behavior
Continually improve Customer Service Aqua/Quality
audit etc
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Its all about perception!

Remember, to the Individual
Perception is Reality

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Public Perception

The attitudes that we have

Treat everyone with respect
Those on the front lines
Represent everyone

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The Golden Rule

The Customer is Always Right

(even when theyre wrong!)

Its more important to be Polite, than

Right!
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It starts at the top!

Head of Departments and Superior

Officers :
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Provide good leadership

Set a good example
Communicate the mission
Support the troops
Recognize outstanding effort
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CitizenKARE
Means Putting Citizens First!

Knowledge
Attitude
Respect
Excellence

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Who are our customers?

To answer that question, we must first identify who the customer is in public safety
communications. Customers can be separated into two categories : INTERNAL and
EXTERNAL.
Internal customers are those people within your organization for whom you provide
certain services or products. External customers are those from outside your
organization. Lets begin with the obvious external public safety customer ,the caller.
The caller is someone who calls the public safety communications agency,
requesting some type of assistance or emergency response. Our emergency responders
are another set of customers, encompassing law enforcement, EMS or fire personnel that
we dispatch to the callers. Yet another customer is Non Governmental organizations like
Red Crescent , St.John Ambulance etc.Finally, our last customerthe internal
public safety customerconsists of the people around us, sitting in the chairs next to us
or across the room from us and the people who oversee the operations of the
communications center, our co-workers.

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Who are our customers?

Customers are like a box of chocolates,

you never know what youre gonna to
get

and you never know who they know.

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Turn Lemons into Lemonade

Unhappy customers are always a
concern. Theyre also your greatest
opportunity
Bill Gates
CEO Microsoft

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Angry Customers

The Assassin tells others about your

flaws
Strategy:

provide apologies
ask for specifics
seek win/win options
avoid absolutes
never underestimate their connections
Follow up

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Angry Customers

The Butcher demands go to the

extreme or the impossible

Strategy:

indicate you want to help

explore alternatives
develop a matching offer
know your limit

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Angry Customers

The Pincher nitpicks the small stuff,

ignores the big stuff

Strategy:

dont sweat the minor details

redirect
focus on the big picture
be sure to document

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Angry Customers

The Grenade angry about one thing,

rants about everything

Strategy:

allow them to vent

find mutual agreement
clarify problem/solution
act promptly

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Angry Customers

The Vampire wants to make you angry

more than fix the problem

Strategy:

tell them what you can do

be empathetic
dont take it personal
dont respond in kind
thats just what they want to Suck the Life out of You!
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The Bottom Line

Listen to your customers
Dont argue with them
Accommodate them promptly (if possible)
Nod and smile!

(when appropriate)

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What you do to or for your

customers is the difference
between success and failure

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Thomas
Faranda

Pitfalls
What could possibly go wrong?

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What could possibly go wrong?

Broken promises/failure to provide the
service
Unpleasant surprises
Unrealistic customer expectations
Delayed responses
Ignoring/minimizing the customers
problem or concerns
Bad manners

Broken Promises
You said you were going to save
grandma!
You said the ambulance will arrives in 10
minutes time but until now it have not
arrived to our place.

Unrealistic Expectations
Why cant you save grandma?
Take time to educate the public
Movies and television arent reality

Delayed Response
I called you 20 minutes ago!
Perception of time slows down for
people having emergencies

Minimizing the Customer

This call is nothing, you should have
seen what we had last shift
Its the third time weve been here this
week our response gets complacent
Dont disqualify the customer with
your qualifications

Bad Manners
Making comments in poor taste can
easily turn a good customer away
If you wouldnt say it in front of your
mother, dont say to the general public

Whats it mean for me ?

How does poor customer service affect us?

Make a list
Political Issues
Department

Actions / show cause letter

Medico-legal Issues
Makes the Call more Difficult
32

Legal Issues
Good customer service can sometime
make up for undesirable outcomes
Bad customer service can lead
to legal consequences

Whats in it for us?

How can Excellent Customer Service affect
us?
Professionalism
Turns negatives into positives!
Recognition (political/media)
Positive public image
Community support
Keeps the Chief off my ***!!!!

Build Community Equity!

Whats it all mean????
Winning hearts and minds (and votes!)
Connecting with community partners
Marketing the mission (life safety programs)
Building respect for your department

Improvement Programs
Public Information
Public Education
Public Relations
CDE

Today and Beyond

Communication Skills
Each of us holds the key to good
customer service:

Quality appearance
Controlling emotions (ours and theirs)
Controlling attempts at humor
Appropriate language in the presence of
others

EXCEPTIONAL
CUSTOMER SERVICE

Assurance
Empathy
Responsiveness
Attitude
Quality
Problem-solving
Listening skills.

Controlling our Emotions

Maintain a level attitude

Their worst day, is our everyday
Dont escalate the situation
Stay away from road rage
Be nice!

Controlling their Emotions

Dont interrupt the customer

Acknowledge their problems
Confirm the details
Outline steps to solve their problems
Provide updates, both good and bad
Get their input to solve the problem

Language
Our words often say more than we mean
Dont talk down to the customer
Use friendly tones - its not just what
say, its how you say it
Be careful what you say

you

Taking the Call

Dispatchers must be courteous
The only voice the public associates with
the hospital.
If the dispatcher made the caller angry,
you get to deal with the aftermath.

Answering the Phone

Fire Headquarters
Name / Rank
How can I help you?

Dispatching
Customers can hear you dispatch
Many customers have scanners, they
hear everything you say
Stay professional on the radio

Improving Your Own

Department
Remember, improvement starts with the
individual
Enhance your departments image
Changing / Implementing SOPs
Awareness training for line personnel
Improvement is a Continual Process!!!

Fortune Cookie
Customer Service is like taking a
bath,
you have to keep doing it

References

Essentials of Fire Department Customer Service Alan V. Brunacini - Fire Protection

Publications
Uncommon Sense, Leadership Principles to Grow Your Business Profitability Thomas
Faranda
Business @ the Speed of Thought Bill Gates

Delivering Unforgettable Customer Service Stephan Sanders Sanders

Communications, Inc.