Three Questions with David Reid, PE

How do you see the principles that work at Chick-fil-A for improving customer experience applying to healthcare?

We look at everything from the eyes of the customer – from the moment they drive on the lot until they get their food and until they’re out of the lot – and try to look at every piece of the experience and remove friction out of anything that slows them down or is hard to understand. We just make them feel like their need is the problem that we are focused on and trying to solve. And I think that’s a good way for anybody who has a customer to focus. I think that applies a lot in healthcare as well.

In your experience and talks with healthcare professionals, what process issues do you plan to address at HSPI?

I’m a patient often at a doctor’s office myself and (know) the challenges. How long does a visit take? How well is the patient, the customer, served? Does the appointment start on time? Does the doctor have to wait or does the patient have to wait? I think there are a lot of similarities between what we try to do at Chick-fil-A in serving customers quickly that also relates to healthcare and getting patients what they need in a timely manner and along those lines.

What satisfaction do you get by serving as a course instructor?

I love teaching for two reasons. One, I feel like when we learn something you multiply it when you share it with somebody else. And the other reason I love teaching is because it keeps me sharp and lets me know what problems are being faced by other IEs. One thing I’m actually going to talk about at the conference is best practices. I believe when we share best practices with each other, we both come away better because we now both have a better knowledge base to improve whatever we’re responsible for improving. So I like learning from students as well as getting to share things I know with them.

For more information about David Reid, PE and the other HSPI 2024 keynote speakers, go to the Keynote Speakers page.