Customer service a bedrock of success

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Derrick McKercher
  • 60th Medical Support Squadron commander
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Customer service is the process of ensuring customer satisfaction with a product or service.

This is a simplistic ideal of what many people think or expect customer service to be based on their expectations. Or as the saying goes, "the customer is always right." So, as I near the completion of four years of continuous service as a medical support squadron commander, what I have learned about customer service on the receiving and giving end, has been invaluable.

As an MDSS commander, my mission is one based on a foundation of customer service. This is actually in our motto for the 60th MDSS, "foundation of care." To me, this is where it all starts and ends. In the support of David Grant USAF Medical Center and the nearly 2,400 people who work there, my mission and the squadron's is to ensure safe, quality care for our patients and the staff who provide them their health care. We rate this by the level of satisfaction our customers tell us they receive in regard to the service my squadron provides.

Customer service is more of a learned trait and it is something that most of us learned at an early age, however, the mastery of it does not come without many opportunities to improve upon it. Employing the adage of "treat others like you expect to be treated" and life becomes a little bit calmer and that much more controllable for the men and women of the MDSS as this is something that is practiced on a daily basis.

I often refer to my squadron as the "roadies" of the DGMC rock show. What I mean by this is that without the setup crew, the instrument tuners, the drivers, the promoters, the sound check folks, etc., the show would not go on. While it is not a rock show we put on at DGMC, how we support the staff of DGMC in meeting its mission is nothing short of phenomenal. From open-heart surgeries and radiologic therapies to the birthing of babies and the continued positive outcomes in the health and wellness of all of our beneficiaries, it starts with the MDSS and its outstanding customer service.

MDSS is the force behind it all from the medical logistics, medical systems, TRICARE Operations and patient administration, resource management operations, and medical readiness flights, the command support staff and a patient squadron, the goal is to do everything with customer service in mind. I truly believe that no organization can be successful without a strong foundation and understanding that the actions by its people show that support and belief in strong customer service drives success.

As my time as a commander comes to the end, I have learned much about myself and the Air Force community I have come to support and understand. The customer service that I provided over this time was hopefully excellent, albeit it not without some bumps and twists along the way. Some of the customer decisions I made may have not been the most popular ones, but successful all the same. Customer service has always been one of my biggest beliefs and priorities no matter what my position was and, as such, has helped define who I have become.

I am someone who believes that building on a strong foundation of customer service is a key to an organization's success and it is what medical support squadrons are built on.