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We Want Your Thoughts - The Aging Services Customer Experience
Can you spare a minute, and respond to this post (just click on comments below to respond)? We want your thoughts.
You might have seen this in the news.
Angie’s List — which has 600,000 members nationwide — built its business by providing a forum for its customers to rate painters, roofers and other service providers. Now, the company allows members to log on to www.angieslist.com to share their real-life experiences with local doctors, from the cleanliness of waiting rooms to the physician’s bedside manner. It’s the latest sign that “consumerism” is becoming a driving force in health care.
Aging services is all about people. It seems that creating an online forum for customers to share good reviews and bad reviews about assisted living, home care, etc., is an idea whose time has come - probably yesterday. Yes, you’d likely get some mean people who abuse it, but it seems that a moderator could screen those types of situations. You’d also likely get insights that need correction and attention. Also, when someone has something good to say, others would see it in that person’s very real words. That’s better than any type of advertising could be. It also could be a very helpful tool for people navigating the mouse-in-the-maze health care and aging services systems.
What do you think? What am I missing? Other ideas?
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 8th, 2008 at 11:27 am and is filed under Changing Aging, Innovation & Technology in the Age Wave, Leadership, caregiving. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
April 8th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Aloha,
Thank you for CHANGING AGING! We look forward to receiving every issue.
We’re currently constructing an online forum along the lines you’re describing.
If you and your readers would like to be kept informed, please let us know.
Thank you again for you informative and inspiring site!
Peter Durkson
peter@mauiagewave.com
Maui, Hawaii
April 8th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
I love this option, it has been missing.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Angie’s List actually already has a whole category of senior services in which members can submit reports on home care agencies, assisted livings, nursing homes and independent livings. I’m not sure if Adult Day and others (for example, like my company, private care managers, are included). Many people don’t know of this option so there are not many reports submitted. I think there’s only 2 reports on home cares and none on any of the other categories. I think it’s a great idea and would love to see it used more widely.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Peter, thank you for your kind words, and Kathleen, thanks for the heads up on Angie’s List.
June 6th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Consumer reported ratings on senior services is definately a welcome to the advertising that communicates the idea that everything at every facility is great.
Aging and elderly health care is not something people freely discuss. It is easier to get an honest review of a restaurant than a health care provider.
Seniordecision.com also provides ratings for senior living options. It will be intersting to see what Angie’s list does to actually improve the process on the front end.
Regards,
Pam
Senior Advocate
September 5th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
This type of forum is a great idea. When I was looking for Adult Day Care for my sister, I had to call all of the Day Care facilities in my area that took people with dementia and then I went to tour the facilities and talk to the managers.
It would be nice to find a central place that let’s people rate them so the process of elimination would be a little easier.