Victimized by Poor Communication

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been the victim of poor communication. I’m pretty sure I just saw every hand go up. It happened to me last month when I was helping my elderly mother with some loose ends on a recent transition from a senior living community to a skilled, long-term care facility. Here’s the play-by-play: Imagine drawing a line representing “acceptable” when evaluating care facilities. Touchmark, the senior living community my mother recently left, is way above that line on the care they give. On a scale of 1 to 100, I’d rank them at 99. Even with a stellar score like that, like all of us, there’s still room for improvement if you look hard enough. Here’s what I found when I pulled out my “improvement” microscope. My mother’s departure meant her initial deposit needed to be refunded by Touchmark. That deposit was returned to me by certified mail. While certified mail sounds like a good, reliable option, Touchmark could have given me the opportunity to come pick up the deposit at their facility. When Mom lived in Touchmark, I went there often. At the very least, taking a moment to notice the address that the deposit

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