“[Here patients] know they are not in a warehouse,” says chairman and CEO Richard P. Heron.

Sculptures, mahogany desks, glassed-in china cabinets, oriental rugs, and brightly painted walls. Is it an HME store or an art and furniture gallery?

The showroom renovation of Pennsylvania-based Heron Home Health Care may be unusual but customers love it, says Richard P. Heron, chairman of the board and CEO of Heron Home Health Care. Furthermore, the patient-friendly space is allowing the company to maintain its competitive edge in a crowded market.

“I think the retail space adds to the business,” Heron says. “Here the patient can feel and touch, and they know they are not in a warehouse somewhere; they are in a physical location.”

The upscaling of Heron’s flagship Drexel Hill, Pa, showroom began more than a year ago when Heron noticed that patients were moving away from traditional, sterile, hospital-like styling to more colorful and homey items and packaging. However, creating the same homey feel in his showroom would be no overnight makeover. The upscaling of the showroom was taken in careful stages.

“At first, we did away with the counter in the showroom and got regular mahogany desks,” Heron says. “Then, instead of putting the equipment on shelves, we stored them in cabinets that almost look like china closets. This way we were able to hide some of the products in the drawers below that were not pleasing, and other things we could put on display.”

Look Reflects Service Commitment
For Heron, the motivating factor to upscale the office was the company’s commitment to personal service, and building relationships with patients. “When you are talking to customers about their health, it is a personal issue to begin with,” he says. Therefore, it is important to quickly build trust with nervous customers, and having a comfortable nonclinical environment in the showroom makes this easier.

Art of the deal: Decorative items—often featuring herons—help (from left) Richard P. Heron; George Christoforidis, president and CFO; and Dee Karras, vice president, brand Heron Home Health Care as a comfortable and caring place for patients.

Heron and his staff worked together to design the new décor. The showroom is a single room with glassed-in china cabinets lining the walls, filled with oxygen supplies—Heron’s main product line—and other HME items. In the center of the showroom are three desks where employees can meet one-on-one with patients. If a patient has to wait to see Heron or one of his colleagues, there is a comfortable sitting area.

The new look was an immediate hit with customers who appreciated the store not looking like a medical office. “As soon as the regular customers came in and saw the changes we did, the compliments were very positive,” Heron says. One customer’s daughter came in just to see the showroom and loved the china closets so much she tried to buy one, he adds.

And customers are not the only ones who like the new look. Heron’s employees appreciate it as well. “They love the desks because the customers can sit right next to them,” he says. “It is more private for customers when the employees can converse with them without having to stand at a counter and ask [sensitive] questions.”

Like the recent upscaling of the showroom, Heron, a pediatric nurse by training, was motivated to start Heron Home Health Care for customer service reasons. “I was seeing some difficulties with patients being unable to get certain equipment, and so I thought I could do a better job,” he says.

The first 2 years were spent working out of his house. Today, the company boasts four showrooms, two in Drexel Hill, and one each in Downingtown and West Chester, Pa, employing about 75, and serving patients in Pennsylvania and nearby New Jersey and Delaware.

Customers include all demographics, but the majority is made up of children and senior citizens. And though the main thrust of Heron’s business is oxygen, he also provides HME items, such as wheelchairs, walkers, and commodes, as well as safety equipment. The business accepts all insurance and has several contracts with the Veterans Administration.

Beautiful Inside and Out
As part of the renovation, Heron also upscaled the outside of the showroom. “We put a pond in and then we found two heron bird statues and we put them in the pond,” he says.

To make sure customers could fully enjoy the peaceful garden scene, Heron put his seat lift chairs, a small table, and an oriental rug in front of the window facing the pond. “So when [patients] come in to try these chairs out, the environment is very pleasing and comfortable,” he says.

Turning regular customers off by upscaling was not a concern. “We are very competitive anyway,” Heron says. “We are able to offer products at very reasonable prices.”

In fact, Heron plans to expand the upscale environment of its flagship store to its other locations. “We are in the process of upscaling our Downingtown store and then we will work on the other two,” Heron says.

If the present comments of Heron’s customers are a guide, these changes will be more than welcome.

C.A. Wolski is associate editor of Dealer/ Provider.