By Steve Brester for our “99 Ways to Make a Positive Difference in Your Pharmacy” blog series

There is a mathematical function called “absolute value.”  The absolute value function in effect turns all negative numbers into positive numbers. Wouldn’t it be great if we had an absolute value function for our attitudes? Any time we had a negative “can’t do” attitude we could just apply this function to our mind and the result would be a positive “can do” attitude. To apply this function in real life you just need to remember to think positive.

Any time you are about to say “I can’t” to a customer, stop and apply the absolute value function and turn the negative communication into a positive one. For example, if a customer asks a question about a product and you don’t know the answer, instead of simply saying “I don’t know,” or “I’m not sure,” let them know that you will still try to help. For instance, you could say “Do you have a few minutes? I really want to help you so I will see what I can find out about that.”

It’s important to remember that if you are not able to immediately help a patient, you need to do all you can to point them in the right direction. Make sure your staff makes a similar effort to eliminate “can’t do” attitudes and help customers to the best of their abilities, including asking you for counsel when appropriate. You can keep yourself and your staff in check by regularly assessing how you can apply the absolute value function in your store. The effort to turn negative attitudes into positive ones will improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Steve is a member of the Hamacher management team and owner's group, and oversees all activities within the IT department including operations, development, network and desktop support. He works closely with each department to help identify their software and hardware requirements, then makes sure his team provides the necessary support to fulfill those requirements.