#13 - What does it mean to be a Chick-Fil-A Nurse?
Tracy writes, “My teacher says I should be a “Chic-Fil-A Nurse”. What in the world does she mean?”
Well Tracy, Have you ever had a great experience at a restaurant that made you feel welcome? Let me tell you a story.
Katherine was a great student. She earned A’s on her exams, was competent in her clinicals, and was meticulous in completing her paperwork. However, one instructor noted that she was abrupt in talking with patients, seeming annoyed when patients asked questions.
Needless to say, Katherine was embarrassed and little alarmed at this feedback. She said she was nervous and didn’t realize she was coming across this way.
As an exercise, her instructor asked her to visit 2 fast food restaurants and compare her experience, 1 restaurant was her choice, the other would be Chick-FIl-A. The first restaurant she visited, the cashier looked down while taking her order, mumbled, shrugged, and after she paid, went right onto to the next customer without a word.
Katherine felt like a bother & although she wanted extra ketchup, decided not to ask for help.
By contrast, when she visited Chick-FIl-A, as she walked up to the register, the smiling cashier asked, “May I take your order?” As Katherine gave her order, the cashier leaned in towards her as she talked, making eye contact and nodding in understanding. Afterwards reading the order back, she asked if there was anything else Katherine needed, responding to her “thank You” with a simple, “My pleasure.”
The next week in clinicals. Katherine summarized the experience, saying, “the Chick-FIl-A cashier made me feel welcome, like she was actually excited to take my order. She thanked me! When I was at the other restaurant, I felt like I was a nuisance.
In that moment, Katherine realized the point. From now on she would strive to be a Chick-FIl-A nurse. She was already competent and provided safe quality care, but this experience gave her a model of good customer service. She learned that how you make a patient feel is important. They should feel it is our pleasure to serve them.
Here are other ways that Katherine provided good customer service:
She greeted her patients with a smile each time she entered the room.
She paused in her tasks and made eye contact.
She listened attentively and asked questions to clarify her patients needs.
She ended each interaction by asking if there was anything else she could do to improve her patients’ comfort.
Tracy, I hope this story was helpful on your journey to becoming a great nurse. If you have a friend that could benefit from this story, please pass it on and as always, if you have a question about nursing school or life, ask doctor wife.
