As we consult her for one final time before returning to Miri, I’d like to dedicate this post to recognize and appreciate our gynae, Dr. Idora Mohamed from Pantai Hospital.
Before meeting her, we know that among our circle of friends, she has had a reputation of being a person who is calm, accommodating, listens to patient’s requests.
Indeed, she lived up to that reputation. She was always calm, humble and respectful. Never once did she seem to show signs of temper. Even in moments when matters got a bit intense, she remained patient, and never collapsed under pressure and was still respectful to our requests - whilst at the same time, could professionally judge when to be assertive if the need arises.
Most importantly, the standout characteristic is that she listens. She makes us feel heard and that our choices matter - and integrates that positive human experience into her expertise.
Knowing that she was one of my mother’s former students in UM, also gives me great personal joy. I could imagine this is one student where the teacher would proudly say, “that’s my girl right there”.
Overall, we had a great experience engaging her with the delivery of our 2nd child, and in fact with the entire hospital services as a whole - a stark contrast when we compare with our not-so-pleasant first delivery experience in another hospital.
It was those experiences where we think “yeah, if there was a ‘next time’, I would like to engage her again”
Reflecting on our experience with her, this triggered me to reflect upon another important theme and takeaway point for all of us: the importance of akhlaq (character, morals, and etiquettes) and the role in our professionalism and what clients perceive as “quality” service.
More often than not, in professional services, competency by itself isn’t necessarilywhat defines a 5-star service in people’s hearts. What matters most is the human experience: How did people “feel” after engaging with you - Did they consider it a positive experience? Was it money and time well spent?
And the more important question: Would they want to engage you again next time?
And this is an important takeaway message to my fellow professionals and managers, too: If your clients, subordinates, colleagues were given a choice to choose their team members, would they think that they would “love to have you on the team”, or “as my manager”? Have you earned their trust and setup a foundation for loyalty?
This is what the leadership characteristic of “Nurture Trust” is all about.
See, when it comes to very specialized professional services - such as medicine, law, engineering, or even finance - many times, clients and customers don’t really have the educated knowledge to really distinguish the competency or technical know-how of these professional fields. How do we differentiate them? How do we single out certain professionals or services as being “good”, “superior” or of “quality service”?
Or even services where pretty much everyone is on par. What will be the key differentiator?
Think about the last time you took a Grab/Uber ride. What made you feel like giving certain drivers 5-stars? What made you more inclined to give tips to one waiter? Or any services you call to your home - a plumber, electrician, mechanic, cleaner, grass-cutter, etc - if they were all similarly priced, what makes you prefer one above the rest?
Was it really their skills or capabilities that made them stand out?
Chances are, it was their attitude - in their demeanor, communication, responsiveness in your interaction - that made you FEEL it as a great experience.
Sometimes, a particular product or service doesn’t necessarily stand out as being objectively superior, but because the customer service was “tip top” - your hearts lean towards them.
I remember a friend of mine who stated that he only buys Dell laptops. When I asked him why, he said “customer service”. When probed further, he said it’s because when his brand new laptop was defective, they came over to him, and it only took them a few days to replace it. Interesting to note, that his laptop was defective - which would normally have prompted us not to buy it, right? How often do brand new laptops breakdown? Especially when it cause those few days of inconvenience, rendering him unable to use his laptop? But because of his personal experience with the after-sales support, he affirms his loyalty to them.
On the other hand, bad character is sometimes all the reason to make you declare “never again” and go searching for others instead. One encounter of bad etiquettes or terrible customer service is all it takes for us to regret spending our money and think “tobat tak mau dah”
So now, let’s flip the observation the other way around: what makes a service notably WORSE than others? What makes certain businesses receive a lower Google rating than the rest? I remember looking up a clinic near our in-laws place, which had a Google rating of 2.4 stars - a ridiculously low score for a clinic. Reading up the reviews, I saw a common theme and pattern of words describing their experience: “Rude, disrespectful, arrogant”. Unprofessional behavior. Terrible attitude. Poor directions.
None of the ratings reflect the quality of the medical service itself.
It was all to do with the behavior. In fact, surprisingly, in this case, most negative reviews were complaining about the attitude of the RECEPTIONIST - not even the doctors!
Customer service can make or break your business or services.
Now, there is a flip side to this concept, however. Because the human emotional experience effects us so much, many intelligent con artists and swindlers use this to this advantage to scam others. They put on a show of good behavior as a smokescreen and distraction to mask their evil intentions, before revealing their true colours and going for the kill.
But this isn’t an excuse for us to put on bad behaviour. If anything, this is all the more reason that the honest professionals are even more in need of upping their akhlaq, compared to those imposters. All the more reason that the TRUE pros need to develop the skill of nurturing trust, instead of those liars!
The key is SINCERITY. “People skills” are merely a tool - it’s how you use it that counts the most. “All deeds are based upon their intentions.” إنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ
The big takeaway that we need from this, is to emphasize how important it is - and how much greater you can soar - if you infuse good character in our professional etiquettes, and the dire consequences if you are poor at it.
Akhlaq is one of those matters where, if one were to excel at it, not only will it be a huge payoff for you in the hereafter and your golden ticket to Paradise, but it is also a huge source of blessings and barakah in your DUNYA pursuits, too!
Let it be the icing on your professional cake, and not the bitter aftertaste of a medicine that people only take “out of necessity”.
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them FEEL.”
The Prophet ﷺ said,
إِنَّمَا بُعِثْتُ لِأُتَمِّمَ صَالِحَ الأَخْلاقِ
“Verily, I have only been sent to perfect good character” (Adab Al-Mufrad)
“O A'isha, verily Allah is kind and gentle, and He loves kindness,
He Grants upon kindness which he does not give upon harshness, and does not give anything quite like He does as he does in gentleness” (Muslim)
“Whoever humbles himself for the sake of Allah, Allah raises him” (Muslim)
He ﷺ said to Ashajj: “You have two characteristics which Allah Loves: Forbearance and modesty” (Adab Al-Mufrad of Al-Bukhari)
the Messenger of Allah was asked about that for which people are admitted into Paradise the most, so he said: "Taqwa of Allah, and good character." (At-Tirmidzi)
He also said, "by his good character, a believer will attain the degree of one who prays during the night and fasts during the day." (Abu Daud)
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