However, health plans, like many companies in other industries, have done relatively little to encourage complaints, prepare to deal with them successfully, and learn from the service failures. It will require bold action, but health plans that make service recovery a core competence will differentiate themselves and reap economic benefits, according to Stephen W. Brown, PhD, Director of the Center for Services Marketing and Management at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Brown, who also holds the Edward M. Carson Chair of Services Marketing at ASU and is a senior advisor to The HSM Group, Ltd., has researched, lectured on, and written about service recovery for the past seven years. The Loyalty Line asked Brown to share a little of his knowledge and insight on the topic in the following interview. The most compelling reason is economic.
Service recovery represents a huge, untapped opportunity to positively impact retention.
And the majority of those who do complain aren't being handled effectively. An investment in service recovery can turn this around. Eavesdrop at any office picnic or family gathering, and you'll hear people griping about their latest health care hassles. Ask how many have voiced the complaint to the health plan, and you're likely to get blank stares. Instead, they quietly leave.