Hospitals Competing For Your $atisfaction

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The chief executive officer of a Florida hospital decided to go undercover. He did not shave for two days, he put on a baseball cap, and pretended to be sick. The plan was part of an effort by HCA Holdings, to find out what it’s really like to be one of its customers. He was able to see things and have the experiences the way patients do.

This was done because hospitals across the U.S. are attempting to make patient stays more pleasant. Since the government is willing to give out almost $1 billion this year in bonus Medicare payments. The government will award it to those that meet Washington’s expectations.  The way this will be determined is by asking patients whether their room was comfortable, if it was quiet at night, and how well their pain was controlled. Estimates of how much hospitals may get aren’t yet available, but high evaluations could mean millions of dollars for hospitals.

“Asking patients directly is the best way to measure care,” says Patrick Conway, chief medical officer for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. It may not lower death rates but it may at least result in better bedside manner. The Cleveland Clinic use noise meters to make sure the hallways in the hospital are quiet at night and they do role-playing for doctors to improve their communication skills with patients. HCA is encouraging hospital executives to pose as secret patients to spot flaws that could lead to low rankings. All this effort is in hope to may make patients dread hospitals less.

It is important for this to be achieved because they are providing a service in hope that the patients expectations are exceeded. It does not always need to be achieved by having an illness cured but the ease and sensibility of the procedure is very important. Therefore, to me empathy is one of the most important service dimensions out of the five, when my dentist told me I had to have my wisdom teeth surgically removed I was afraid of the procedure since it would be my first surgery. In seeing my reaction the dentist communicated with me that everything would be fine and the way he spoke to me made me feel that he cared about how I would feel in his chair, making me less afraid of my procedure. Overall I believe hospitals should improve their service so it is a pleasant experience from the  moment you enter to the moment you step out.

Questions to think about

What are some things you wish hospitals would improve?

Have you had any bad experiences at hospitals?

Which of the five service dimensions are most important to you?

 

 

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-31/hospitals-chase-medicares-performance-based-bonuses

http://serviceperformance.com/the-5-service-dimensions-all-customers-care-about/

 

 

A Fake Tiffany Blue Box

Photograph by Timothy A. Clary/AFp via Getty Images

Costco is now selling Tiffany replica rings but at the Costco price and this is causing Tiffany to file a multimillion-dollar trademark suit against Costco.

A women on WeddingBee.com asked her blogger readers about what where their thoughts on jewelry from Costco, most women said that they would not mind a ring from Costco but they would not be entirely for it. Some of the responses included, that they only saw Costco as a grocery store and never thought about buying a ring from there, another response was that she had thought about buying a ring from Costco but was concerned when people would ask where she got the ring.

On a Good Morning America episode a Tiffany diamond and a Costco diamond where both appraised. The $16,600 Tiffany cut was 58% more expensive than its $10,500 value, and the $6,600 Costco ring was 17% under its evaluated value of $8,000. What allows Tiffany to have their prices $6,100 above the evaluated price is what the international recognized blue box means, Quality.

The dimensions of product quality that Tiffany offers are,

Conformance- When you buy an engagement ring at Tiffany’s you buy something that Tiffany has ultimately guaranteed that it   will meet the specifications of your loved one.

Reliability/Durability- Since it is a prestiges company that has spent many years building, you are assured with all the paper work that the ring you buy will have a useful life and a consistency of performance through out it.

Service- Once a ring is purchased, it can be returned for cleaning or resizing at any time.

Response-  The jewelers have face to face interactions with their customers about the different kind of cuts and qualities of diamonds so they choose the best diamond for them.

Aesthetics- Every piece of Tiffany’s is a renowned design and over the years there have been a select number of designers to create exclusive pieces just for Tiffany.

Reputation- Tiffany has spent years building a reputation for themselves, with the help of many stars and the classy Audrey Hepburn endorsement raises not only the price of its jewelry but the reputation of the little blue box.

My parents own a jewelry store and I notice how peoples meaning of quality differ all the time. The one difference I constantly get from customers is the preference from 10kt and 14kt. Many people have had problems in the past with 10kt or have heard stories that created a bad reputation for 10kt. Although I explain to the customers how gold has changed and how 10kt is now a better quality the reputation and the durability of the past remains.

Is $6,000 more worth getting a lifetime of sizing and cleaning?

Or

Is the name Tiffany worth $6,000 more?

Also

If you found a similar ring to Tiffany’s at Costco with the same quality diamonds, would you still purchase the above evaluated Tiffany ring?

 

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-06/tiffany-vs-dot-costco-which-diamond-ring-is-better

http://www.tiffany.com/About/TheTiffanyStory/default.aspx#p+1-n+6-cg+-c+-s+-r+-t+-ri+-ni+1-x+-pu+-f+/0