Customer dissatisfaction: Eight sure ways to enrage residents and families

Long-term care professionals have endured customer-satisfaction and quality-care seminars. They have received tips, advice, and prescribed steps to quick fixes for managing difficult residents and families. Now, here are some tips on how to displease customers -- or what not to do if interested in customer satisfaction: 1. When there is a complaint, look serious and say, "We're doing the best we can." 2. Immediately blame someone, but make sure that the person blamed is inaccessible to the complainer. 3. Call the family liars. 4. Be sure to stand ground and never accept a family's suggestion for improvement as a good one. 5. When a request is made or a suggestion is offered, simply look the family or resident in the eye and flatly respond, "We can't do that." 6. If the family or resident persists with the suggestion, always say that there are no funds in the budget for it. Recommendations for customer satisfaction are also presented.