Don't Push Now The Doctor Isn't Here

Sometimes, pushing is the wrong strategy.

Of course, if you believe that “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”, you push. You push all the time. You explore. As I’ve heard pointed out in various ways by many people, “little boys just can’t resist sticking their fingers in holes”.

In a way, that’s what I do here. I find holes and figure out what’s inside them. I create Search Engine Optimization strategies for our clients. I look for business change issues that small businesses can use to their advantage. I’m all over customer service. And it comes together in something I’ve started calling influency*.

Yesterday, I was up to my elbows responding to the many, many comments both here and at other web sites to my post on Virgin America Customer Service. There was a television on in the background, and I heard the audio from whatever was playing. The words that caught my attention were “You Can’t Push Right Now Because The Doctor Isn’t Here“.

As I said, I was buried in Virgin America Customer Service, so my head was in the right place. And what popped into my head when those words floated past was, “Oh Really?”

Customer Service is about being helpful. Being helpful isn’t always easy, and people will often ask for more than you’re prepared to give. But the one thing you must always do—always—is speak with your customers respectfully. “You Can’t Push Right Now Because The Doctor Isn’t Here” ? Wanna Bet?

Speaking from my own perspective (and my kids were all born via cesarean section, it was a long time ago, and I wasn’t the pusher, regardless), what I hear in that statement is that the doctor is more important than the patient, or at least the nurse who uttered them had been indoctrinated to believe that was so.

Or worse, it wasn’t about what was good for either the doctor or the patient, but instead about what was good for the hospital. Yes, it’s optimal for a doctor to be present when you give birth, Yes, it’s best if your doctor is there. But to the woman who’s ready to give birth, “You Can’t Push Right Now Because The Doctor Isn’t Here” just doesn’t matter. Go ahead, push; someone will catch the baby—you’re in a hospital.

Again, I bring this up both because customer service is a passion around here and something we consult on, and because the Virgin America Customer Service story has gotten bigger than I ever thought it would. I’ll be telling you more about the comments I’ve been fielding, soon.

Go ahead, push. Push where you want, how you want, as hard as you want. And if you need someone to have your back, well, you can always contact me, here.