At 4:03AM on August 19th, 2012 my son was born. 10 fingers 10 toes and a beautiful head of hair, but he didn’t make a sound when he came out. He was 2 months early. The emergency team got right to work and after a quick fly-by so we could see his face and snap a single picture, he was rushed off to the NICU.
Two weeks and a lot of amazing milestones later, he finally came home this past weekend. Spending every day at the hospital with him in that time made me really appreciate the way the staff handled what was possibly the most difficult of all customers: Two new parents separated from their child. Here’s a few things I took away that can help you deal with your most difficult customers in stressful situations:
They had an excellent on-boarding process – From the moment we arrived in the hospital, they started explaining what was happening so we felt in control of the situation, and every nurse and doctor introduced themselves and explained their role as soon as they arrived. It gave us a great sense of confidence and trust so when it was game-time we knew what they were doing and trusted them to make good decisions. They also took the time to explain the things that could possibly freak us out (like when he didn’t cry right away) so we didn’t hit them with a barrage of questions when they needed to focus.
They defined outcomes instead of deadlines – I felt like all of the questions we asked started with “When will X happen” From when he came off of respiratory assistance to when he could come home, they gracefully avoided committing to a date and instead defined the outcome that would result in the event we wanted to know. “To go home he has to do X, Y, and Z on his own. If that can happen for a few days in a row with no relapses, then we will consider sending him home”
They made themselves available for questions – This kept all of the hard work they did from going down the tubes once the excitement was over. Once my wife came home and couldn’t just walk down the hall to visit him, we still needed to feel connected. The NICU has a 24/7 phone line and we could call up any time and speak to his nurse about how he was doing, any changes overnight and ask questions. It wasn’t that we needed to call constantly, it’s that we needed to feel like we could. The few times we did, we felt reassured that they were doing a great job.
You may not deal with the same high-stress customers they have at the NICU, but if you constantly find yourself dealing with difficult situations or know there is a stressful event coming up with a client (like an IRS audit!) think about the NICU staff and the amount of care and planning that went into managing our expectations and carefully delivering information. That difference can turn a client’s worse nightmare into a positive experience.
The Better your Business Project 
Something tells me you will have a lot to write about over the next 18 years or so… You are off to a good start. Congratulations!
Too often we we encounter businesses that don’t focus on what the client wants, only what they think they need or want to sell them. Those that are most successful are the ones who take the time to listen, communicate through the process and support their clients. Some of this effort doesn’t result in immediate results, but ultimately you provide value that differentiate’s you from you competition.