Have you ever had that sinking feeling that comes over you after saying the wrong thing at the wrong time? Often referred to as sticking your foot in your mouth, the sensation is, unfortunately, part of the human experience. Filtering your statements before opening your mouth is a great cure for foot-in-mouth disease.
It's one thing to filter your own thoughts before speaking, but quite another when you overhear a colleague say something that could easily shatter patient confidence in the organization. At that point, unfiltered or even inappropriate remarks go beyond socially embarrassing and become professionally damaging. This happens more often than you might think When damaging remarks are made, customers are often so put off by the statements made by an employee that they choose not to say anything, but rather take their business elsewhere.
In the business of health care, where our patients trust us with their lives, everything our employees say is being judged and filtered through the ears of the patient or family member who is often in a vulnerable state. One employee tossing out a seemingly harmless excuse or remark can cause a customer to take her business elsewhere and convince her friends and family to do the same.