The following letter went out today to Alan Weiss, CEO of Naples Community Hospital.

Dear Dr. Weiss,

I am writing to commend your NCH Downtown staff on providing superlative customer service last Tuesday, April third 2007.

My brother-in-law, Ingo, was undergoing surgery for removal of a melanoma, with requisite skin graft and lymph node removal. It was a trying time for my sister and young nephews, of course, but also for me. Ingo has been a close friend for well over half of my life. Waiting with my sister was arduous for us both.

At one point I went to the cafeteria; on the way back I got lost, so I stopped someone who turned out to be a nutritionist. She didn’t know exactly where Day Surgery was, so she brought me to her office to ask a colleague. Said colleague was on the phone when we entered, but she got off quickly when she saw we needed her. To my surprise and delight, the two nutritionists proceeded to practically fight over who was going to take me to my destination! The “winner’s” walking me there was much more than I ever expected – and it was great. I felt truly spoiled.

The others I passed in the hallways made eye contact and smiled sincerely, and the cafeteria cashier made me feel welcome as well. Let me say here that I have recently moved from Boston, where such red carpet treatment… well, I have never seen the like.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ritter came out to the waiting room to greet my sister, and brought her into a private room to explain Ingo’s condition – a highly respectful, professional touch. He had almost finished when I joined them; after asking my relationship and checking with my sister, he explained the whole thing from the beginning. He did so with a smile.

The recovery-room nurses were great with Ingo’s considerable post-operative nausea. The anesthesiologist spoke with Ingo to make sure he wasn’t just giving platitudes – “No really,” he insisted, “how are you?” This was at 5:00, which in our experience is usually when doctors and staff try to give you the shuffle.

My sister tells me, “The treatment was so nice, it was like boutique medicine. It was much more intimate than what we are used to, which is more along the lines of Walmart: ‘Get ’em in, get ’em out, thanks for your money.’ It really inspired confidence.”

Dr. Weiss, I am a customer service trainer, the author of two books on the topic (Five-Star Customer Service and Spoil ’em Rotten!). I travel the country speaking to business owners and top executives about how to treat their customers right. This month, my company is giving out our first annual Coiné Awards for Excellence in Customer Service – just ten for over one thousand companies we studied over the course of a year. So I’d have to say, I’m not easy to impress. Yet I am impressed by your staff. And I want to thank you, on behalf of my entire family, for the warmth, dedication, and above all the professionalism they demonstrated that day.

Kindest Regards,

Ted Coiné