Compassion - The Key Ingredient to Success

Published in Member Communities on January 03, 2020

When working in the home medical equipment (HME) industry, providing exceptional customer service is incredibly important. It is a passion that providers must have. This passion and drive is what led Liam O’Keeffe to the HME industry, and it is what led to the beginning of On The Mend Medical Supplies & Equipment in 2016. On The Mend Medical Supplies & Equipment is both a VGM and VGM Live at Home member.

“Our company was founded on the belief that this industry needed more customer service and compassion. We treat every customer the way we would want our parents to be treated,” says Liam O’Keeffe, Partner of On The Mend Medical Supplies & Equipment.

Prior to entering the HME industry, O’Keeffe was a financial planner. However, he realized just how large of a need there was for the industry and decided that he wanted to provide a service to those who needed HME products, particularly seniors. But it was also O’Keeffe’s previous experiences at medical equipment stores while helping his own mother acquire the products and services she needed. 

“I just thought that the customer service for something that was so important to this generation was lacking. I couldn’t believe that it was like a wholesale counter where you walk up, tell them what you need and then they say they’ll have it in a few days. There was nothing personalized about it.”

Because of this, making customers feel welcome and heard is one of O’Keeffe’s main goals.

“When you walk into our store, the first thing that you see behind our counter is a big sign that says, ‘Free Hugs, Just Ask.’ Nobody comes to us for good reasons, and nobody wants the products and services we all provide, but unfortunately, they do need them. Therefore, making these experiences as good as possible is something that we do well.”

One of the many ways On The Mend goes above and beyond for their customers and provides such impactful experiences is when they offer to pick up a snack or beverage for the customer while they are on their way to deliver that customer's equipment. A similar experience happens when customers come into the store. Staff at On The Mend immediately offer to get those customers coffee or even ice cream from the shop next door. When the customer gets the equipment or service they need, On The Mend uses that first experience as the building block of a long-term relationship with the customer.

Recently, O’Keeffe sat down with one of his customers, Mrs. Lang, to discuss her experience with On The Mend and how they put their business philosophy into practice with her. To watch, see the video above or click here.

To be able to give such an impactful experience to customers means that the staff at On The Mend are hired for their dedication and passion of delivering positive customer experience. O’Keeffe mentions that most of the staff at On The Mend were hired based on their behavior in the community. For example, one of their recent hires was an associate at a different retail store that went above and beyond for her customer, who happened to be O’Keeffe. Because of her determination to help O’Keeffe find exactly what he was looking for, he offered her a job at On The Mend right on the spot.

“I’m looking for people that want to go above and beyond, and that’s what we’ve built,” states O’Keeffe. “We have a team of people that care to the point of going that extra mile and making sure that that person has what they need.”

The dedicated staff and customer experience priority has helped On The Mend’s success, but other factors that O’Keeffe credits is their dedicated product training for users and caregivers, as well as their dynamic social media presence. All of these factors have helped On The Mend succeed, especially with the recent opening their second location on Jan. 3, 2020. It all goes back to the value of compassion for the customer.

“At the end of the day, it’s a passion to make somebody’s day a little better.”

To learn more about On The Mend Medical Supplies and Equipment, visit onthemendmedical.com.