CindyHeilman
Novice
/ Moderator
Aug 6, 2009, 1:25 PM
Post #1 of 1
(3582 views)
Shortcut
|
|
Does your community need a service makeover?
|
Can't Post
Private Reply
|
|
By Cindy Heilman
Imagine the people below are your residents. How would they, or you, answer the following questions?
Elizabeth Brown has arrived at a table for lunch and is now being served. The server says:
a. “Here’s your lunch.”
b. “Here’s your lunch, dear.” (she calls all the residents that)
c. “Here’s your lunch, Elizabeth” (since that is the name on her official paperwork)
d. “Here’s your lunch, Betsy” (since that is the name she has gone by for the last 70 years!)
George Smith is ready for his dinner. The meal comes:
a. On a school-lunch type tray with all the sections filled with the non-select meal.
b. On a tray with separate plates containing a pre-selected meal.
c. On separate plates with the entire meal served at one time.
d. Served on plates in courses, with some option for choices.
As his dinner is set in front of him, Fred Jones asks the server, “What is that orange stuff next to the chicken?” The server responds:
a. “I don’t know but it does look kind of gross, doesn’t it.”
b. “I don’t know.”
c. “I don’t know. Would you like me to check with the kitchen?”
d. “It is a puree of squash. Are you interested in trying it or would you like me to bring you another side dish choice?”
Mary Wilson is always a timely person and arrives for breakfast promptly at 7:00am. Mary generally receives her entree:
a. Sometime between 7:00 and 7:45 since there is only 1 server.
b. Sometime between 7:00 and 7:30, there are 2 servers but they go in order around the room.
c. Sometime between 7:00 and 7:15, there are enough servers but they wait till a table is full before serving it.
d. Within 15 minutes of sitting down. Service is based on when people arrive, not when the server happens to get to them.
Bob Reynolds has been a resident for 9 months. In that time the serving staff has:
a. Turned over completely at least twice.
b. Turned over completely at least once.
c. Turned over by at least 50%.
d. Remained stable or turned over by less than 50%.
Scoring: An “A” answer scores 0 points, a “B” is worth 10 points, a “C” is worth 15 points, and give your facility 20 points for each “D” answer.
If you scored… 50 points or less: You are in need of a serious service makeover, and your community will be avoided
between 51-65 points: You are in need of a serious service makeover, and the “talk” about the food and service in your dining room will not be kind.
…between 65-80 points: You are on the right road, but won’t have a competitive advantage in your marketplace.
…81 points or higher: Congratulations! Your facility makes service a priority and is clearly working with serving staff to enhance the dining experience.
Every mealtime is an opportunity to reconfirm a resident’s choice to live in your community. Which community above would you choose for yourself or a loved one?
Savvy managers know that residents’ service expectations have changed. Understanding why and how is vital to staying in business. Do you understand these changes? Are you positioned to manage a team that can give the residents what they want?
Expectations Have Changed
The dining experience and its impact on our residents’ perception of care is finally taking center stage. Why? There are several reasons. We are serving a different generation of customers. Depression-era survivors have passed on and we now serve the post-World War II and Baby Boomer generations.
Boomers have experienced higher standards of service throughout their lives and continue to expect them. They transitioned from “do-it-yourself” to a lifestyle dependent on paying others for services. Both men and women held professional careers and managed businesses. As retirees, they’ve traveled on luxury cruise ships, dined out extensively for entertainment, and paid for catered services. As they move into a senior care community, they bring along all those experiences and expectations.
The LTC market is much more competitive than twenty years ago due to a dramatic increase in the number of communities. Those offering quality customer services along with quality care will compete better. And, with food service recognized as one of the most important ways residents measure overall care and satisfaction, it is receiving stronger emphasis than before.
Finally, we better understand the links between our residents’ emotional well-being and their quality of life. Their ability not just to survive in our communities, but to thrive, is based on whether they feel valued. When they receive consistent quality service we send the message that they are important to us and we respect them.
Ready for that makeover and convinced it is important? Next month we’ll get started!
Cindy Heilman, MS, DTR, is the CEO of Higher Standards, an Oregon-based hospitality company. Born from her vision to transform residential meal priorities and dining for senior residents, Cindy has created her experiential training program Kind Dining ®.
---
(This post was edited by CindyHeilman on Oct 13, 2010, 11:41 AM)
|
MAIN
SEARCH
WHO'S 
LOG 