Customer Relationship Management in Context of Thai Private Hospitals Coping with Non-Thai Clients

Abstract

       This research aimed 1) to study the challenges of customer relationship management and intercultural communication and 2) to suggest a guideline to deal with those challenges as mentioned on its aimed number one (1) coping with Non-Thai clients in context of Thai private hospitals. This research deployed a phenomenological qualitative approached to seek to understand and describe the universal essence of a phenomenon on daily basis of humans. This research employed in-depth interviewed with senior managers and managers in total 20 health care providers. The data was analyzed by a thematic analysis.

       The results showed that the challenges of customer relationship management for managers were inadequate for medical tools and equipment, unemployed specialist operational level with years of experiences and fluent in languages. The suggestions were planned medical tools and equipment purchasing and properly usage, increase remuneration and employed adequate interpreters at all time. The challenges of intercultural communication such as their cultures and languages understanding for each Non-Thai clients both verbal communication; poor listening, unfamiliar native and non-native accents, lack of vocabularies, speaking fast included some managers had never taken English proficiency tests and non-verbal communication such as misinterpreted for their gestures, ambiguous gestures and tone of voice vs. facial expression. The suggestions were cultural learning and training for Non-Thai clients’ characteristics, taken language proficiency tests and increase interpreters for translation.

       The challenges of customer relationship management for operational level were stressed, anxious, lack of information sharing by cross functions, lack of marketing plan and promotion package information and the latest treatment fee of the private hospitals. The suggestions were working time reduction, training to stress reduction and create motivation and top-down communication by management to all personnel. The challenges of intercultural communication were poor listening and unwilling to communicate due to do not understand, poor English communication included technical terms. The suggestions were provided adequate interpreters at all time, used healthcare applications, provided training courses to develop language proficiency both listening and speaking skills in multi languages, Non-Thai clients cultural learning, training evaluation and follow up periodically and self-learning.