Employee Spotlight: Charmain Herrin

Here at Mission, we subscribe to Bob Farrell’s philosophy of customer service—give ‘em the pickle! What does that mean? For those of you unfamiliar with the story, Bob Farrell owned Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour and Restaurant, and he created the pickle philosophy following an experience with a mistreated customer in one of his stores. Farrell received a letter from a regular customer after the customer’s normally free extra pickle was suddenly $1.25. It was then that Farrell shared his now world-famous customer service philosophy, “Give ‘em the pickle!” When the customer is unhappy, go above and beyond to make it right.

We’re not only focused on providing the best patient care and customer service in the world, but we are also focused on recognizing the incredible team we have that makes it all possible. To recognize our staff, we started giving out our own version of Farrell’s pickles—monthly awards for exceptional customer service and operational staff performance. Today, we wanted to take a moment to recognize one of our outstanding staff members, and recent “Pickle” winner for her contributions to our operations here at Mission, Orders Lead, Charmain Herrin.

Having just joined us in January this year, this mother of 4 has proven to be our secret weapon. We’ve been able to utilize her talents in several different departments and roles, including her most recent role in our orders department where she’s spearheading our efforts to go paperless.

“Between the twelve to fifteen hundred physicians we’re dealing with, we estimate that we use about 5,000 pieces of paper per week. We’re in the process of getting all of our physicians computers to work with in the field so that we can keep everything digital. It’s a slow process, but we’re definitely making progress,” Char says.

With an extensive background in customer service and management, Char has quickly found Mission to be a unique experience. “I’ve been in customer service for many years, but by far, Mission exceeds any conceivable expectations of what good customer service is,” Char says. “When I started in the customer call-back program, I saw the most incredible examples of customer service. It gives me chills! For fifteen months after a patient is off our service, we call them monthly to check in and make sure they’re doing okay. I don’t know of any other organization that does anything like that.”

Following her time in the call-back program, Char moved into our Referral Coordination Program (RCP) where she worked with physicians to provide information packets for their patients about their upcoming surgeries. “The packets give them everything they need to know—information about the hospital they’re going to, the procedure they’re having, what the recovery time is expected to be, and community resources to help them manage the process. Regardless of whether or not they are a Mission patient, we’re there to support them and answer their questions.  The RCP is just another example of Mission’s dedication to putting patients first,” Char shares. “It’s outstanding.”

Not only does Char love the care we provide our patients, but she also loves the care we have for our staff. “This company is so wonderful. Because it’s newer and the founders are people who truly want to make a difference, they’re always looking for ways to improve. It’s amazing to be part of a place where everyone has the same mindset.”

“Let’s just put it this way,” she says. “If I or my family member was sick and needed care, I would hands down call Mission.”

That’s the biggest compliment we could ever receive. Congratulations on your Pickle, Char!

About Mission:

Mission is a clinically owned and operated organization whose services include Mission Home Health, Mission Hospice, and Mission Home Care.  By providing these three service lines, Mission Healthcare strives to have a positive impact on the lives of patients, their families, and their healthcare partners no matter what their needs may be. Mission utilizes all available resources to provide the highest level of care possible to their patients, all while in the optimal healing environment, the home.