In the inevitable moving stuff around during a recent home-improvement project, an envelope addressed to me containing an updated Visa card was misplaced, and I unknowingly carried around the expired card in my wallet for a couple of months. It wasn't until I received a letter from FedEx asking for my immediate attention to a "payment due" that I found out otherwise. Apparently, they had tried to bill my account for a package and the expired card came up as "invalid." I dug through the piles until I found the envelope with my new Visa and began getting the little fiscal glitch sorted out. As I was online, and midway through updating my billing profile at FedEx, it dawned on me that, in spite of getting an "invalid" when they ran my charge card, FedEx had gone ahead and delivered my package first, then set about getting paid. My guess is that any number of other companies thrust into a similar scenario would have held my package pending payment. To be honest, I wasn't really surprised at all, as this was typical FedEx—always putting customer service first.

     When you read the title of this column, you probably thought the only thing we have in common with FedEx is that we are both in the transportation business; however, that would be far from the truth. Read on to learn what other outstanding business qualities FedEx brings to the table, and how we could improve our work by emulating some of the primary elements of their business model.

An Unswerving Commitment to Quality

     When FedEx got into the transportation business, it was by no means the first company to give this a go. Being a Johnny-come-lately, FedEx clearly wanted to get everyone's attention and show the world it was truly raising the performance bar and was a business force to be reckoned with. To that end, FedEx decided to offer an iron-clad guarantee: Your package will absolutely, positively arrive overnight or delivery will be free. That is about as tight as any guarantee I've ever heard of. With its reputation and business model on the line with every delivery, FedEx never blinks when it comes to providing quality service. This exceptional commitment to quality explains why I've had a business account with them for over 20 years.

Willing to Always Do What's Right

     In addition to the previously described scenario, over the last 20 years, I've had two other remarkable experiences with FedEx. In both cases, I received a phone call letting me know that my packages were going to be late and they would be crediting my account for the cost of shipping. In one case, my package arrived a mere 30 minutes late; in the other, it was a couple of hours past due. True to their promise, they had not delivered on their end of the bargain and refunded my money. Plain and simple, FedEx chose to do what was right for me, their customer. Truth be known, if they had not called and brought it to my attention, I almost certainly would never have known they were going to be late. But that isn't how FedEx does business. They took the initiative to call and bring the matter to my attention, then credited my account for both packages.

Handle Packages With Extraordinary Care

     No matter what you entrust to them, FedEx handles their packages like their business depends on it, because it does. I have sent hundreds of letters, packages and boxes with them over the last two decades, and not once has anything I shipped been damaged or lost—not ever. How many companies you do business with on a regular basis can you say operate at such a high level? Irrespective of the product a company sells or what service it provides, the pursuit of excellence takes tremendous effort. The best I can tell, FedEx pursues excellence 24/7. While I am basing this observation on personal experience, I am also documenting two decades of flawless service. Luck doesn't hold out for 20 years, so the folks at FedEx are clearly getting the job done, and in grand style to boot!

Conclusion

     Unlike FedEx, which transports letters and packages, we transport people—the most precious cargo of all. Aside from that difference, I truly believe that if we handled every patient with the care and attention FedEx gives its customers, embraced their unswerving commitment to quality service and the pursuit of excellence, and, without fail, always chose to do what is right rather than what is easy or convenient, our profession would improve. And we would have FedEx to thank for it. Until next month...

     Mike Smith, BS, MICP, is program chair for the Emergency Medical Services program at Tacoma Community College in Tacoma, WA, and a member of EMS Magazine's editorial advisory board.