You can’t always avoid mistakes, but how you respond to them can shape how your patients and employees perceive your pharmacy.
Whether it be a misunderstanding with an employee, miscommunication with a patient, or even a more serious error, it’s critical to remain calm and to focus on correcting the mistake in the best way possible.
Use these tips to manage your mistakes, correct them quickly and maintain patient satisfaction.
Trust your instincts
You know those “gut feelings”? Don’t ignore them, but don’t solely rely on them to determine your course of action, either.
If you have the feeling that something is not quite right with a decision you’ve made, investigate the cause of that concern. You’ll gain a better understanding of the mistake and the situation that caused it.
Stay calm
A clear mind is the best tool for approaching a problem or a difficult situation, and for correcting a mistake. Taking time to get your thoughts in order and keeping anxiety at bay in a tense situation will allow you to find the best solution.
Once you’ve given yourself adequate time to process the situation, decide what your end goal or final outcome should be. Work backwards from there to get organized and develop the steps to fix your mistake.
Take responsibility
Making excuses or blaming others—even if it is their fault—will translate negatively to your patients, employees and other stakeholders.
Demonstrate your integrity by owning up to mistakes, and your patients will likely be pleasantly surprised that you were quick to accept responsibility for the problem. It will also help begin a positive resolution process.
Apologize when necessary, then move on to how you will fix the problem.
Act quickly
Don’t let a small mistake turn into a bigger one by ignoring it. Don’t rush into action without thinking, but after taking the time to calmly step back and assess the situation, make it better.
If you misspoke or misdirected an employee, or made a more serious mistake about a patient’s care, clearly articulate three things:
- What went wrong
- How you will fix it
- What you will do in the future to prevent the problem from occurring again
Listen closely
Even after you’ve made your apology, your patient or employee may still want to talk about the problem. Instead of growing impatient, make sure to carefully listen to what he or she is saying, and reiterate empathy and your apology.
Your patients and employees want to feel heard, and listening to their side of the story—without interruption—will demonstrate that you value their thoughts and feelings.
Move on
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Each mistake you make will allow you to become a better, more resilient pharmacy owner or manager.
After learning from your mistakes, let them go. Oftentimes, your reaction to a mistake can be an even better indicator of your customer service and patient care than if you had never made one in the first place.
Use these tips to correct mistakes, while learning from them to create an even better pharmacy experience for your patients.
