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K.R. CHAO & ASSOCIATES

Company Profile

K.R. Chao & Associates is a company that is committed to helping organizations achieve service excellence. Founder and Principal Kevin Chao has over thirty years of service experience, and has been in the healthcare industry since 1986. As a paramedic since 1988 he has handled thousands of requests for service. Over the years he has had the opportunity to provide quality service to customers under a wide range of circumstances. As he moved into healthcare administration he continued his focus on customer service.

Prior to beginning a career in healthcare he gained extensive experience in the banking, hospitality, and retail industries. Customer service skills acquired in these industries provided a foundation to build skills specific to the healthcare environment. Providing service as a paramedic has allowed Kevin to develop techniques and skills that will work in any industry.

K.R. Chao & Associates designs all programs to meet the needs of each client. This alone separates K.R. Chao & Associates from many other companies that offer similar services. This approach allows organizations to receive presentations specific to their environment.

A simple truth, that often goes unnoticed. But not here. It is our conviction that the human component of healthcare is the foundation upon which care is provided. And that deeper truth drives our Mission:

            To help Healthcare organizations achieve Service Excellence.

The mission and vision of K.R. Chao & Associates is to ensure that all customers receive service from individuals who understand that no two customers are the same in their needs and expectations. This is accomplished by providing comprehensive customer service programs with emphasis being on the human component of service. Programs are designed specific to the needs of each client to meet the needs of internal and external customers.

Contact Information

      Telephone: (949) 297-4982

      City: Aliso Viejo, California

      E-mail:

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should we train our employees in customer service?

The customer has direct contact with the front line service employee. This employee is a reflection of your entire organization. Your representative must have the ability to identify the customer's needs and expectations. Failure to properly prepare your employee to satisfy customers is an invitation to lose that customer. Many organizations invest considerable money training employees, but neglect training in customer service. All of the other training is important, but if you don't have customers I'm sure you see the problem. Customer service training should not replace other training but should be in addition to. This will provide a well equipped employee to deliver service.

Who should do the training?

Someone who understands the environment where the service is being provided should conduct the training. Utilizing people that do not have an understanding of healthcare customer service is a disservice to your organization. It may be difficult for your service employees to relate to someone who does not understand the challenges, demands, and uniqueness of customer service in healthcare.

What type of training do you recommend?

Customer service training to be most effective should be interactive. Ideally with a class size that provides a ratio of participants to facilitator to allow maximum interaction. The interaction format allows participants to explore a variety of approaches to satisfy customers and overcome challenging service situations. Techniques learned can be applied immediately to actual customer interactions.

How often should employees be trained?

After the initial training the frequency of follow up training should be determined by the organization. At a minimum it is recommended that there is an annual refresher. This refresher is an opportunity to review key critical concepts, and share recent challenging service situations. This is also an excellent time to communicate specific needs of customers, new requirements of a contract, or changes to the existing customer service program.

An organization may choose to have additional training when encountering difficulty meeting the service needs of customers. The goal is to proactively train employees in customer service, and not wait until you have dissatisfied customers.

Analyze Customer Satisfaction Employee Performance Evaluations »

The need for excellent service is as important in the public as in the private sector. Service is the key operative word in public service. A good model for public service to follow is that of a private business. Treat every customer as if you could lose them tomorrow.

In a world driven by competition many times it is the service that makes the difference. All companies strive for customer satisfaction, but satisfied customers isn't enough. There is a difference between a satisfied customer and a satisfied loyal customer. The satisfied customer appreciates the service they received, but also understand that other companies provide good service and meet their needs. The satisfied loyal customer appreciates that your organization has achieved a level of service excellence that is superior to other companies. The loyal customer is the one who uses your organization exclusively. The ultimate testimony to an organization's service excellence is their satisfied loyal customer base.

Determining levels of customer satisfaction can be accomplished a variety of ways. The most common are by contacting the customer directly, or by survey or questionnaire. It is important that organizations know the customer's feelings about the service. It has happened all too often that an organization's perception is that the customer is very happy only to learn that the customer is doing business with the competition. For the public service agencies it may be the dissatisfied customer who shares their dissatisfaction at a city council meeting.

Key Benefits

• Understanding of the customer's feelings and perceptions.
• Ability to identify areas for improvement and make the necessary changes.
• Sends a message to the customer that the organization values its customers.

Customer Service Quick Reference Patient Services Checklist »

Customers experience a variety of feelings based on their service experience. These feelings may be neutral, but most of the time they are positive or negative.

It is important that your actions create the positive service experience.

Satisfied customers acknowledge that you gave them good service, but they appreciate that other organizations also give them good service. Loyal customers appreciate that your organization has achieved a level of service excellence that exceeds their expectations. The loyal customer does business exclusively with your organization.

Exceed every customer's expectations. Treat every customer as if you could lose them tomorrow.

The customer is always right!

Maybe yes, maybe no, but they are always the customer and should be treated accordingly.

Care vs. Service

The care can be exceptional but the service was lousy. Care is one component of service.

Assessing and meeting needs.

The human needs can be just as important as the medical needs. Make sure you take care of all of the patient's needs.

BLS vs. ALS

Basic life support is the "cake", advanced life support is the "icing" on the cake. You have to have a cake before you can put icing on!

Dignity and respect

Dignity and respect are basic human rights that everyone deserves. It is not your place to pass judgment on anyone.

Customer Service Presentations Facilitate Meetings with Customers »

Customer service presentations can be done for any audience from internal staff or employee meetings to conferences. Customer service is the essence of every organization therefore it is one of the most popular topics for audiences. Customer service presentations are designed specific to the particular audience. All presentations are built around the human component of service. Information is presented in a fun, high energy style with the incorporation of real life situations to highlight key concepts of service.

"Polishing the Stone" is a presentation that has received extremely positive feedback. This presentation takes the participant through building relationships with customers, customer satisfaction and loyalty, through interaction with customers and providing service. At the beginning of the presentation each participant is given a small rough stone. At the conclusion each is given a small polished stone. The polished stone represents the service skills that were learned during the presentation. Participants keep both stones, and are encouraged to keep the polished stone with them at work to remind them of the importance of finely tuned service skills. The message of "Polishing the Stone" is that everyone has the ability to polish their stone, and every customer deserves a polished stone.

Customer service presentations are a great way to give any group an overview of the key elements of service. Properly delivered service presentations can energize and motivate service employees. Valuable skills that were learned can be immediately applied by the participant in their interactions with customers.

Key Benefits

• Generate ideas for creating customer loyalty.
• Refresher on the key elements of service.
• Emphasize the key role that each employee has in serving the customer.

Customer Service Training

Customer Service Programs	Front Line Service Employee Training
Supervisory Personnel Training	Communications Center Training

Customer service training is as important as any other training. Many times it is assumed that employees know how to provide excellent service. In actuality, some are better than others, but all employees benefit from customer service training. Like all skills customer service improves with training and practice. It is imperative that all employees are given the "tools" to do their jobs.

A company's employees provide a window for the customer to look into its organization. The big question is does the customer like what they see? Impressions are powerful, and perception can be reality. The employee looks sharp, is pleasant, and meets all of the customer's needs and expectations therefore this is a great organization and all of their employees must be like this. The opposite can also be true. The employee who lacks the professional image, is unpleasant, and does not meet the customer's needs; well we know what the customer might be thinking in these situations.

Training to be most effective should be interactive ideally with a class size that provides a ratio of participants to facilitator to allow maximum interaction. The interaction format allows participants to explore a variety of approaches to satisfy customers and overcome challenging service situations. Newly acquired skills can be practiced in the safety of the training environment. Techniques learned can be applied immediately to actual customer interactions.

Key Benefits

• Provide employees with an understanding of customer needs and expectations.
• Ability to differentiate between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
• Equip employees to exceed customer expectations and gain greater job satisfaction.

Employee Performance Evaluations Analyze Customer Satisfaction »

Every organization must provide quality service to internal customers (employees), before they can expect quality service to be delivered to external customers. Performance evaluations can be one of the most challenging responsibilities of any supervisor or manager. The importance of performance evaluations to the employee, and the organization, can not be overemphasized. The service that managers / supervisors provide to the internal customers in the form of performance evaluations is a key component to ensuring that internal customers are equipped to deliver quality service to external customers.

The Employee Performance Evaluation training is designed for managers / supervisors who are responsible for evaluating employees. Below are some of the key areas that are covered in this workshop.

• Purpose of the Performance Evaluation
• Components of the Performance Evaluation
• Preparing the Evaluation
• Helpful Questions
• Preparing for the Meeting with the Employee
• Employee Expectations of Meeting with the Manager / Supervisor
• Meeting with the Employee
• Follow Up
• Preparing for the Next Evaluation
• Employee Evaluation of the Manager / Supervisor

Managers and supervisors, by the nature of their jobs, tend to have heavy workloads. To make things worse, it is not uncommon to have numerous employee performance evaluations due at the same time. Learn techniques that will make preparing performance evaluations fast and easy. The end result will be a performance evaluation that is a true reflection of the employee's job performance.

Patient Services Checklist Customer Service Quick Reference »

The key to providing exceptional service is to take care of the medical and personal needs of the patient. Only after all of the customer's needs have been taken care of can the service provider reflect back and know that they not only provided exceptional care, but also excellent overall service. Individuals that understand that care is merely one component of service have the ability to provide the greatest positive impact on customers. Below are some examples of non-medical customer needs that the patient in the "field" may have.

• Take the patient's medications to the hospital
• Get insurance cards
• Extra clothes to come home in
• Legal documents such as Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)
• Take personal items (eyeglasses, keys, toy etc.)
• Notify family member / neighbor
• Get the phone number of anyone they may need to call
• Arrange child care
• Turn off appliances
• Feed pets
• Put perishable items away
• Move furniture back
• Clean up (emesis, blood etc.)
• Leave a light on
• Lock the house or vehicle

These are just a few examples of areas that enhance the overall service experience. As you can see service goes far beyond the care you provide. Taking time to identify and meet these needs can have a significant positive effect on the patient. If the patient's medical condition is critical it may be necessary for the front line care practitioners to delegate these tasks to other members of the team.

Facilitate Meetings with Customers Customer Service Presentations »

The most effective method of receiving feedback from customers is by having face to face meetings and asking key questions about the service. More and more organizations are seeing the value of conducting meetings with five to ten customers and representatives from the organization. These meetings usually last from sixty to ninety minutes. The meetings may be held at a company site, or they may be held off site at a location such as a hotel meeting room.

The meeting will have a facilitator who will use a list of predetermined questions to obtain information. Customers have the opportunity to share their perspective of the organization's service performance. Areas for improvement can be identified and corrected, and positive feedback can be shared with the service providers that were involved in the service experience. These face to face meetings send a very clear message to the customer about the organization's commitment to service excellence. These meetings do not replace other methods of obtaining feedback from customers, but act as a supplement.

Employees take pride in working for organizations that value their customers. Many organizations use front line service employees with management representatives to meet with customers. Employees know that they have the opportunity to meet face to face with customers and hear their feelings about the service. Employees also know that it may be a customer that they themselves provided service to.

Key Benefits

• Hear directly from the customer their feelings about the service.
• Gain valuable information in the form of positive feedback that can be shared with the service providers that were involved in the service experience.
• Send a clear message about the organization's commitment to service excellence.

Customer Service Programs

Customer Service Training	Front Line Service Employee Training
Supervisory Personnel Training	Communications Center Training

The customer service programs that are facilitated by K.R. Chao & Associates are definitely not your standard training sessions. In the standard training sessions participants attend and listen to someone give them a bunch of information. K.R. Chao & Associates programs are not training sessions they are interactive experiences. As Kevin facilitates the interactive experience the group explores different service situations and techniques. The facilitation style is fun and high energy allowing participants to laugh and learn. Service examples from many industries are used to provide the attendees with an appreciation of service concepts. Participants can immediately use the concepts and techniques that are learned.

As a paramedic Kevin has handled thousands of requests for service. The job of the paramedic is to respond to requests for service. These requests for service vary in severity from minor to very serious. The paramedic after making contact with the patient (customer) will determine the needs of the customer. The paramedic has entered into a service agreement with the patient. This concept is no different than a service provider and a customer in any industry. Just as requests for service for the paramedic vary in severity so do the service requests in any industry. Some requests are fairly straight forward and easily accommodated, while others are more challenging. The paramedic never knows what the next request for service will be. He/she must be prepared to handle whatever situation is presented. This requires knowledge, skills, confidence, and a desire to serve.

Even the most challenging service environment can be "tamed". Once service providers have learned the skills, customer experiences will change and reach new levels of loyalty. These loyal customers who share their incredible service experience now do much of your marketing. Many companies and organizations invest money in all the wrong places. One of the most common mistakes is to throw money at the problem to fix it. The majority of the time the problem isn't fixed, it just became more expensive. Fiscal responsibility dictates the need for investing money wisely. Properly trained service staff will provide the greatest return on investment.

Front Line Service Employee Training

Customer Service Programs	Customer Service Training
Supervisory Personnel Training	Communications Center Training

This presentation focuses on the employee who is responsible for interacting face to face with customers. The demands of healthcare frequently require the front line employee to provide service under difficult circumstances in a constantly changing environment. Daily they are faced with a barrage of needs and expectations from numerous customers. All employees must be equipped and trained to handle all of the customer's needs. The service presentation for these individuals also identifies the employee's manager and/or supervisor, and their partner as a customer. Yes, each of these people has needs and expectations that must be met.

Over the years I have encountered many individuals who have never looked at these people as being customers. Through active participation as a group we identify some of the needs and expectations of these important customers. The employee must know where to get questions answered, and understand the importance of forwarding pertinent information to their manager or supervisor. The front line employees many times are the first members of the organization to be made aware of concerns. If concerns are promptly forwarded to the appropriate individual this allows for immediate intervention and hopefully resolution. This prompt action can have a significant effect on the customer and increase the probability of a positive outcome.

The customer service training for the front line employee is done with an appreciation of the difficulty of their job. Time is taken to analyze the impact that they have on customers, and the contributions that they make. From a humanistic side their interactions can have an impact that you can not put a dollar amount on. Many times these front line professionals have lost sight of the contributions that they make. This is usually seen in employees who have been working in the field for awhile. Throughout the training the constant focus on the human component of service reemphasizes the significance of the actions of the front line service employee.

Supervisory Personnel Training

Customer Service Programs	Front Line Service Employee Training
Customer Service Training	Communications Center Training

The role of supervisor is one of the most challenging jobs in any organization. This person must balance the needs of internal and external customers. The supervisor needs to have the ability to make decisions and solve problems. This requires a good understanding of the business, including the needs and expectations of all customers. The following topics are some that have been found to be extremely important to supervisory personnel.

• Handling customer concerns
• Recognizing exceptional service
• Barriers to quality service
• Incentives / Motivation
• Satisfaction / Loyalty
• Profit / Growth
• Productivity
• Empowerment
• Conflict Resolution
• Importance of follow up

Supervisors may be the initial points of contact when there is a concern. It is imperative that these individuals have all the "tools" to do their job. As front line management representatives they have the ability to minimize the negative impact of situations. Supervisors have face to face contact with internal customers daily. The supervisor is a resource to the front line service employee. As a resource they provide many services to these internal customers. One of the most important parts of the supervisor's job is to recognize exceptional performance.

A true testament to the effectiveness of your supervisory personnel is the feelings the people they supervise have for them. Effective supervisors have gained the respect of their workforce and have reputations for being helpful, fair, and consistent. A good test is to ask employees what they think when their supervisor approaches them at work? If they say, "What have we done wrong this time?" there is probably a problem. It is important that all supervisors understand the services they provide to internal and external customers.

Communications Center Personnel Training

Customer Service Programs	Front Line Service Employee Training
Supervisory Personnel Training	Customer Service Training

There are times when the job of dispatcher seems to be a thankless one. In many organizations the dispatcher is responsible for receiving incoming requests for service from external customers, then must assign internal customers to respond and provide service. This can be one of the most demanding positions constantly attempting to meet the needs of all customers. The dispatcher may be the vital link between requests, and providing service in a timely manner.

The dispatcher also has the challenge of dealing with customers indirectly via the phone or radio. The service tools such as a smile, body language, or the ability to physically touch the customer are not available. I have heard it said by some people, who are not dispatchers, "Oh, those guys have it easy, they just answer the phone and send us on the call." The truth is it can be a real juggling act with phones ringing, and field crews calling and trying to please everyone. Over the years I have also heard it said "We are out there running all these calls and those guys in dispatch just sit there and keep sending us." My belief is it takes a special type of person to be successful in the dispatch environment. I know from conversations with dispatchers over the years many of them wish they could get away from their console and stretch their legs or go out to eat. I've heard dispatchers say "Field crews are lucky, even if they are busy at least they are out moving around."

The customer service training for dispatchers focuses on both internal and external customer relationships. Just as time is spent in the front line employee training talking about dispatch as a customer, considerable time is spent in dispatch training talking about field crews as customers. Each has expectations of the other and basic needs that must be met.

Achieving Service Excellence

1. Smile
   A smile sets the tone for the service interaction
2. Be helpful
   Deliver service in a way that helps rather than hinders.
3. Make doing business with you easy and pleasant
   Do your best to eliminate obstacles and barriers.
4. Provide service to the level that you would expect if you were the customer
   Place yourself in the customer's shoes and provide the service that you would expect.
5. Appreciate the customer's current set of circumstances
   Take into consideration the current set of circumstances the customer is dealing with.
6. Use all of your skills to provide exceptional service
   Go above and beyond to personalize the service and make the customer remember you.
7. Treat every customer as if you could lose him or her tomorrow
   Approach every customer interaction with this mindset. Even if your customer does business with you based on a contractual agreement, treat them each and every time as if they could freely choose to do business with someone else next time. Treating your contract customers this way will greatly enhance the probability of renewing the contract when the time comes.
8. Look for opportunities to do something unexpected for the customer
   Look for something that will have an impact and make the customer remember you in a positive way.
9. Ask the customer if there is anything else you can do for them
   This is such a simple thing to do, but very few service providers actually ask.
10. At the end of the day ask yourself "How can I improve the service I provide?"
    This self-evaluation can greatly enhance the service experience for your future customers.