Inside Duke Medicine
DRAH operators: Source of info and hub of communications
posted February 17th, 2010Tucked in an office in the lobby of Duke Raleigh Hospital, PBX operators are busy running the hub of telephone communications for the hospital. Staff, patients and visitors walk by the office daily without seeing or hearing the hard work going on behind the closed door.
On the other side of that door, PBX operators Cindy Bazemore and Donnessa Edwards answer more than 100 calls an hour with a friendly greeting. They continue the conversation with the same tone and provide helpful responses to each caller, including both patients and hospital staff.
"Human interaction still counts when it comes to good customer service," said Jackie Piner, supervisor of PBX operators. "Under Doug Vinsel's leadership we switched from an automated recording to having live representatives answer the phones. The public response with that change continues to be extremely positive."
The operators recognize the importance of providing outstanding customer service to all callers.
"The hospital depends on us to know our job," Edwards said.
She adds that it is the operators' responsibility to retain information -- telephone numbers and basic knowledge of the many departments at the hospital -- and serve as a resource to those who need that information.
Piner is proud of the service her staff delivers. "They possess the knowledge and skills to assist with caller issues quickly and effectively without having to unnecessarily forward the caller to various departments."
"We help the public calling in, doctors, employees in the hospital and patients in the hospital who need help finding phone numbers," Bazemore said.
Not only do the operations understand the important role they play at Duke Raleigh, but they also enjoy the work they do.
"Interacting with different people everyday always offers something different and provides the opportunity to learn something new," Edwards said.