Customer satisfaction

I went for a medical appointment at the new District hospital this morning . This would be the third time I am at the hospital , so I went  mentally prepared  , knowing well ahead that   my patience would be tested again .  I kept a note of all the timings .

10.00 am	left my ID with registration staff .
10.50 am	got my outpatient number . Time stated on the number slip – 10:26 am [Note: a few agitated outpatients were  grumbling about the snail service  and the inefficiency of the front desk staff
11:30 am	Out of Room 13 . This is where a hospital attendant  took my BP and asked me  the purpose  of the visit .
11:45 am	out of Room 15 . The doctor on duty reported to me about the outcome of the sputum test . She also referred me to the respiratory specialist clinic .
12:00 noon	finished the final 2 tasks . ·         Got my prescription from the pharmacy ( very fast) ·         Schedule an appointment with the specialist clinic ( no hassle)

So , what can one say about  the efficiency of this new hospital service  when one has to wait close to an hour to get registered ?  I must also add that the staff on duty showed no urgency at all !  Another patient next to me imitated exasperatingly how the registration staff  was keying in data with 1 finger only . No wonder it took that long !  It mocks us , as a nation , to have   5-star infrastructure  only to fill it up with incompetent staff ! 

 There is only one criterion for  any service industry  - customer satisfaction .  The hospital is a very good example of a service institution that should render quick service to its patient-customers. Generally, the longer the patient stays in the hospital the more ineffective and inefficient it is. As patients, we all want the hospital to let us out as fast as possible – of course well and alive.

I read somewhere that In the busy domestic ticketing offices of Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways in Tokyo, there are no chairs nor sofas where customers can sit and wait on. There is no need: it is company policy that a customer should get his airline ticket and finish all necessary transactions (reservation, payment, issuance) within 3 minutes flat. The hospital is another example of a service institution that should render the speediest service to its patient –customers ! Take it from the Japanese  .Service operations should not waste the customer's valuable time. The faster he gets in and gets out, the better.