Advertisement The Disney way is service with a smile and enthusiasm. It’s the kind of service we get every time my wife and I go to Walt Disney World. We are constantly greeted with “Have a Disney day,” “Have a magical day,” or “Have a grand (or great) day.” Even one housekeeper, after a long day of work, greeted us on a walk to the car with “Good to have you here. Have a great day and have fun.”
Imagine if hospitals and medical clinics adopted the Disney hospitality style.
At the clinic entrance, medical staff break out in song and dance, “Be our guest, be our guest, put our service to the test.” In the ER, staff are awaiting for your arrival and rush you off to treatment — the paperwork can wait.
In the clinic lobby, a vocal quartet sings your troubles away. On the second floor, a pianist entertains you in a waiting area. If you have an early pass, you can see your doctor an hour before the clinic opens. If you have a fast pass, you don’t have to wait but can come back to see your doctor during a specific one-hour period.
Medical receptionists, wearing a big smile, jump out of their chairs and welcome you like family and friends. A patient representative stands by to make sure you’re seen as soon as possible and that your stay is comfortable. A doctor is happy to see you and asks you, “How can I help you today?” instead of saying, “What seems to be the problem?”
All medical staff need to think of nothing they do as routine because it’s not routine for the patient. They need to think like they just brought in their mother to see a doctor. Disney does that.
With today’s medical costs, patients should be treated like Disney’s family for the day. And more and more hospitals and clinics are doing more to make patients feel like they’re being treated at a special place.
At Disney, you won’t hear a waiter or waitress say “no problem” after you have thanked them. Obviously, it shouldn’t be a problem getting something for a customer because it’s the minimal expectation. Disney folks say, “You’re very welcome” or “It’s my pleasure.” Only a Disney waitress from Hawaii said, “No worries.” It’s a cultural thing.
Disney, the corporate giant, doesn’t always do it right, but we can learn to be a little bit nicer and more polite — and be healthier and happier — if we think of others as Disney guests. It’s been my pleasure. Have a Disney Day.
HEALTH SCORECARD: I wrote last week about the La Crosse Medical Health Science Consortium’s health scorecard project, where you can find lots of health information about 20 area counties on everything from accident, heart disease and cancer indicators to health and behavioral measures. I must have been thinking about sports when I wrote about the Web site, because I mentioned scoreboard instead of scorecard. So check out the correct Web site, www.lmhscscorecard.com.
