South Bay Home Health Care may not be on a main street in the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance, Calif, but that does not stop a steady stream of walk-in traffic from coming through the door. The secret, according to owners Joseph and Miriam Tenne, may sound like a cliche. The hidden ingredient is dedicated customer service, and it happens by design.

Even the location was chosen to improve the customer experience. Originally located on a busy street when the store opened 25 years ago, South Bay Home Health Care moved to a less trafficked area 14 years ago to make entry and parking easier for customers. Visitors appreciate the ample parking outside, and the wheelchair-accessible aisles allow them to browse the wide range of products on the shelves. Cheerful white signs with easy-to-read block lettering clearly label each product section to help guide customers to what they need.

The company offers products in nearly every category of HME so that customers can find everything they need. "We provide a full line, which means that whenever people have an issue or a question, they know that if they come here, they will go out not only with their answer, but also with their product," Joseph Tenne says.

The Tennes' philosophy is to never let a customer leave unhappy—even if it means providing services at their own cost, such as offering loaner equipment, repair work, delivery, or even replacement in some cases. The idea is that a satisfied customer will become a loyal customer, generating both more orders and referrals. "We don't always look to the dollar," Miriam Tenne says. "Many times that we give service, it will not bring the revenue to cover the expense and the effort that we went to. But we believe that will generate more orders in the future."

EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT

South Bay Home Health Care services patients from a wide cross-section of both Los Angeles and Orange counties. "We go as far as our delivery can be done on the same day," says Joseph Tenne. For patients outside of their delivery range, South Bay employees are always quick to provide referrals to other HME dealers who service that area.

For the Tennes, developing a customer-service culture means investing heavily in staff training and development. The result is a high staff retention rate—most of the 22 employees have been with the company for more than 10 years. "The secret is not hiring the right people," says Miriam Tenne. "The secret is having the compassion to make them the right employees."

This means giving staff the tools to perform their jobs well. The Tennes send employees to training courses, hold in-services for them, and also require them to complete online courses from DME?Train (a company based in West Springfield, Mass). This month, staff nurse and board-certified orthotics fitter Steffy Trousdale, LVN, will start regular in-services designed to give employees a better understanding of the types of diseases affecting their customers. The hour-long question-and-answer sessions will take place once a week. "It's all to enrich their knowledge," Miriam Tenne says.

All staff receive customer service training and can perform billing and other functions as well. "If somebody's missing, we're not answering the phone saying that the person is not in today, call tomorrow," Joseph Tenne says. "There's always somebody to step in ... and take care of it."

The Tennes pitch in, too, by answering phones, stocking shelves, or coming in early to arrange the room. While the Tennes are always available for questions, they give employees room to perform their jobs, and staff are encouraged to make decisions on their own. "The owners give us the leeway," says Roshawn Swazer of customer service. "We don't have to get the OK to order a piece of equipment. It makes a big difference that when they're out traveling, they trust us enough to run their business."

The result is a sense of empowerment that keeps morale high—a vibe that customers pick up on readily as well. "We actually treat this company as if it were our very own company," says Gilbert Leyva, also of customer service.

Customer service rep Gilbert Leyva says worker morale is high because South Bay employees are empowered to make decisions.

While not all employees have "customer service" in their titles, all employees are considered customer service representatives, whether they work at the front desk, in the warehouse, or in the delivery truck. The employees take this to heart, and many will even offer to make a delivery on their way home if a driver can't get to a location that day. "I always get a lot of clients who say, ‘I can't believe the service that you give us here,'" Leyva says. "And that's the particular reason that they come back to us."

One of the newest staff members, Frank Bravo, attributes customers' loyalty to the relationships they build with employees, especially those who have been with the company for many years. For example, scooter customers already personally know the repair technicians who will handle their service needs. "People who get that kind of service tell their friends to come here," he says.

It also means being attuned to customer needs. On the rehab side, staff members conduct evaluations to make sure the product is the right fit. Staff technicians can perform any repairs, and can even make custom modifications such as redesigning a wheelchair backrest, to provide a better fit. "We make sure that it meets not only their physical needs, but also that they can use the equipment in their home and transport it properly," says Laura Becker, RTS, rehab equipment specialist.

This personal service extends to cash items as well. Stockings are a popular cash item for the store, and this is largely due to the professional fitting service offered by Trousdale. "Compression stockings should always feel good—they should never hurt or be uncomfortable," she says.

The company stocks several styles and sizes so that customers can be matched with the best fit. "One sock does not fit everyone," Trousdale says. These fittings often open up other sales opportunities. For example, if Trousdale notices that the customer has dry skin, she can suggest a lotion or ointment as well.

Even though cash items, such as bath equipment, lift chairs, and scooters, provide a good source of revenue for the company, South Bay employees make sure that customers never pay out of pocket if insurance will cover an item. "If you come to our store, we'll always tell you whether this could be covered by the insurance," Miriam Tenne says.

The staff work with patients to ensure that they get a proper prescription from their physicians, and they will often work with the physicians to get all of the paperwork they need to bill properly. "We do a lot of courtesy billing, which is really good for customers," says Lorena Hernandez, who works in the billing department. "Pretty much anything that is billable to Medicare, we take care of."

This often means going the extra mile to make sure that insurance companies understand the necessity of the request. "We don't take no for an answer very easily," Becker says. "If we really believe it's medically necessary, we'll fight all the way to help [customers] get it."

Although it can be difficult to compete with large chain stores when it comes to popular items such as ointments, the Tennes say that it is rare they cannot offer customers the best price for an item. "We always check ourselves to make sure that we offer our customers not only the best quality and the best service, but also the best price," Joseph Tenne says.

MARKETING IS MULTI-PRONGED ATTACK

Warehouse Manager Martin Cruz (right) says close relationships with local manu­facturer reps help him get answers fast and make repairs more effectively.

To spread the word about their store, South Bay employees actively participate in senior fairs and health care meetings, and Trousdale provides in-services for residents, physicians, pharmacists, and special interest groups. The result is that the company is well known in the area, and it often serves as an information source for referral sources and patients alike who want more information about a product or service.

The Tennes have a broad advertising campaign, including billboards, newspaper ads, and television commercials. While advertising on pharmacy bags or in the Valu-Pak didn't prove successful, the Tennes have found a payoff in more targeted efforts. For example, every 6 months, customers receive a reminder postcard that their Jobst (a manufacturer based in Charlotte, NC) stockings are due for replacement. The card offers customers a discount for coming into the store, and has been a successful way to bring in traffic. "We hope to expand this on other products, too," Miriam says.

The Tennes also develop marketing relationships with manufacturers. South Bay works exclusively with manufacturers that back their products with strong warranties, such as replacing defective merchandise without charge—even if it's a $10,000 item that has been out for a year. In exchange for the company's loyalty, these suppliers are usually willing to help pay for advertising on billboards, on television, or in print—especially if the ads highlight their products.

Building these relationships gives the Tennes confidence in their products, which means they are never tempted by close-out or discount sales from competing suppliers who may not back up their products. "We look at the whole picture," Joseph Tenne says. "Price is part of it, but service, backup, and marketing help are other very important issues."

Manufacturers are also involved in South Bay's annual Mobility Care Day, which takes place in mid June. Customers are encouraged to stop by, enjoy free food and drinks, and take advantage of free minor repairs and adjustments. Manufacturers offer blood-pressure and sugar-level tests, and they also perform the repairs on their products.

For Martin Cruz, who handles the warehouse and repairs on a day-to-day basis at South Bay, this is a good opportunity to build relationships with local manufacturer representatives. "We know them personally, and we get to work with their new equipment," Cruz says. "If we have questions on repairs, they'll show us right then and there."

DIVERSIFY FOR THE FUTURE

As competitive bidding gets under way in other parts of the country, there are still many questions about how it will be implemented. Still, Joseph Tenne feels confident that their product line diversification will serve them well in a competitive bidding scenario. "We never let ourselves go into a situation that we are relying on only one specific line or one specific product," he says.

The company has also built up each area of the business to be successful in its own right, which could open up options for the company when competitive bidding reaches the West Coast. "Each department of this company can be independent later on," he says, citing the cash-product section and rehab department as examples.

In the meantime, the staff is focusing on improvements such as better software integration. The company recently purchased a Windows-based system to replace their DOS-based software, and employees are busy inputting inventory and learning the new features. They are also developing new marketing materials for referrals, such as a calendar created from the Tennes' own nature photography.

While the Tennes chose to enter the HME business because of the unlimited demand for products and services in this category, Joseph Tenne says that the true pay-off is seeing customers walk out of the store with smiles on their faces because they have finally found a helpful solution for their situation. "Even when we are tired, it's something that makes us say, ‘We did something today,'" he says. "That is what it's about."

Ann H. Carlson is a contributing writer for HME Today.