Framing is Everything (or, "My time under twilight sedation")

This entry was originally going to be a service review about Norton Audubon Hospital, where I recently underwent a minor medical procedure.

At the start of my visit, my judgment was arguably impaired from anxiety.

At the end of my visit, my judgment was definitely impaired from the “twilight sedation.”

[Seriously, there’s probably nothing they could have done to me under twilight sedation that would not have seemed totally groovy.]

So while I think I experienced tremendous care and service, and while I am more than happy to assign our “5 Magnets” ranking to the visit, I’d feel weird about it.

So instead of doing a review, let’s focus on an area where I KNOW the hospital excelled, and that’s on the post-procedure survey.

Altogether now: “The customer survey is another form of customer communication, and as such, it reflects the values of the administering brand.” I know, you’re tired of hearing it.

But Norton really nails this. They sent me a postcard letting me know that the survey was on the way, and the framing of the communication was perfect (see below; emphasis added).

 

It’s a given that any good communication about a follow-up survey be focused on providing better customer experiences. And the postcard from Norton definitely meets this criterion. From the title of the post card to their request to help them “improve,” the tone is pitch-perfect in terms of focusing on enhancing their service.

So that’s a great start.

And then it really blows my mind by also offering an even more genuine, cogent, and (dare I say) heart-warming purpose for the survey, which is to “recognize staff members who provide outstanding service.”

Joy!

If you read this site regularly, you know that I believe in identifying, recognizing, and rewarding star players. That’s how you improve the service of your entire team.

Also, this is a very positive frame that gives the respondent a great reason to want to take the survey.

That is, people who received great care will be motivated to fill-out the survey in order to thank & reward the people that took great care of them (that’s certainly how I felt).

So great job, Norton!

Until next time, here’s to the power of twilight sedation!

Update on July 27, 2010 by The Magnetic Group

Addendum: Also, I wanted to mention that the positive frame from the post card was followed-through in the actual survey.

Its introduction also focused on Norton's desire to improve the quality of its care, and again mentioned their desire to recognize "employees who perform outstanding work."