The Power of Feedback

December 7, 2009 | 4 Comments

I’ve got really bad eczema over most of my body. This means I need to apply lots of creams every day and need special shampoo and soap substitute. I’ve also got asthma which I need inhalers for. This in turn means that I’ve become fairly familiar with the NHS and I spend more than most people in Pharmacies.

In the UK, if you need medicines you ask for a repeat prescription from your doctor, then take this into the Pharmacy, sign the back and you get your drugs.

The Dreaded Survey

A few months ago, I took in my repeat prescription to my local Pharmacy. They handed me a survey form with my medicines. There was a web address I could go to and they were asking for feedback on the service they provided. Normally I bin surveys on sight – I’ve got more fulfilling things to do with my time than fill out forms. But for some reason, I was intrigued. I think part of it was an interest in how they’d execute the survey online. So I fired up Safari and went to the web address listed. I answered a few demographic questions and some standard issue questions: “On a scale of 1-5, how are we doing with blah”. The usual drill.

The final question was “Do you have any specific suggestions for how we could improve?”. My initial reaction was “No, not really. I just want to get on with my life now, thanks.” But there was a pretty big white space, and a flashing cursor. So I thought a little longer. Was there anything specific they could improve?

Hmmm. Let me think…

What happened next was strange. I realised that actually, there was one thing they could improve. It was a small detail and I’d never mentioned it to anyone, but it always annoyed me that there was never a pen at the counter. There’s a form on the back of every prescription which needs to be filled in. It always struck me as silly to have to ask every time “Do you have a pen?”.

Once I’d mentioned the pen, I couldn’t fail to mention the lack of proper writing space. There was a tiny area to rest on nestled amongst the boxes of cough medicine, but I wanted a proper flat surface with a bit of space higher up so I didn’t have to lean over to fill in the form.

I gradually found that actually, there were lots of little things they could improve to make my life a little bit easier. I’d just got used to the experience of ordering a repeat prescription being less than ideal. And let’s face it – these little glitches weren’t exactly life wrecking. I think I’m capable of asking for a pen every time. And as for the lack of a decent writing surface, I’m only ticking 3 boxes and signing, not writing War and Peace.

But nevertheless, the classic Mastermind “I’ve started so I’ll finish” syndrome applied, so I continued to tease out all these small internal frustrations. After typing solidly for 30 minutes, I felt I’d cleared my head a little, but was skeptical they’d do anything about it. Surely my suggestions would be quickly “filed” in the nearest bin?

Surprise!

Well, a week later I had yet another prescription to hand in. As I approached the counter, to my amazement I saw a pen in plain view. Not only that, but they’d cleared a space to the right of the medicines for filling out the form.

They’d listened to my feedback, but what’s more, they’d actually done something about it. For the first time in a long while, I felt empowered as a consumer. This means I’ve now got a real connection to that business in a way I don’t have for most Pharmacies. And that means as long as they keep that pen at the counter, I’ll keep giving them my trade.

Sweat the Small Stuff

The improvements they made must have taken them all of 30 minutes – they were so small you could be forgiven for thinking they wouldn’t make any real difference. But they listened and acted, and that was the most powerful thing they could have done.

So when a customer next asks for something that seems small and insignificant, take the opportunity to act on their feedback. You may just bag yourself a very loyal customer.

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