An interview with Shelby Lemlar, MXR's Executive Vice President of Operations

Leading by Example: An Executive's
Approach to Customer Service

An interview with MXR Imaging’s Executive Vice President of Operations on his 'drop everything' approach to combatting our customers' issues.

The cost of downtime can escalate quickly for a healthcare facility. For MXR customers, that frequently means Shelby Lemler, has to clear his calendar. But why would someone with hundreds of people in his organization have to clear his calendar because of downed radiology equipment and play a leadership role in personally getting systems operational again?

Q: Don’t you have lots of people who could do this for you?

A: When a medical imaging system we support goes down, we are the best team to call. We have the largest nationwide team of service and repair professionals and support the full range of medical imaging modalities. I certainly do not get involved every time, but I won’t hesitate to drop everything and get involved if I’m not convinced we are doing absolutely everything we can to get the customer back online as quickly as possible.

Q: How do you know when to step in?

A: There is a plaque on the wall of our corporate offices in San Diego that says, “Customers never measure you for doing what they pay you for, since that is expected. They measure you for the things you do that they don't pay you for.” I try to live by that philosophy.

I can’t tell you what the exact criteria is, but it’s our job to be the rock that our customers can lean on in times of crisis, and if I’m not convinced we’ve done absolutely everything we can do, I step in.

Q: Can you give me an example of a time when you got involved?

A: There was a customer in Texas with a downed MRI system. The root of the problem was a failed chiller. We didn’t sell them the unit, nor do we currently support this customer’s chiller.

The customer reached out for help since they could not find an HVAC company to come out and look at the chiller. The MXR team stepped up to the plate and began working through our rolodex of contacts and eventually found a company to come out and work on the chiller. Unfortunately for the customer, the chiller really broke. We ended up sending an air-cooled compressor to the site to stabilize the MRI system while the chiller repairs were taking place. We never made a dime off any of these repairs or charged for our services to assist the customer.

I’m confident we helped speed up the repair and protected their MRI machine in the interim. Ultimately saving the location from a large helium bill and removed the burden of coordinating repairs from the site’s staff to allow them to focus on their job. For me, this is the intrinsic value add that MXR brings to the table.

Q: Does your philosophy extend to everyone on the MXR Imaging team?

A: Yes, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have challenges. The typical field service engineer likes to come in the back door, fix the problem and leave a note, having never spoken to the customer. I understand that this is the most efficient approach, but frankly, that’s not enough for MXR Imaging technicians.

We are partners with our customers and partnering requires us to also be excellent communicators. We live by the philosophy that it’s our job to minimize surprises. We aren’t perfect, and that’s another reason I frequently feel the need to step in.

The only way to get better is to be in the trenches and reflect on what went right and what went wrong. Our priority is putting the customer first and focusing on a positive customer experience.

Q: When you get involved, what role do you typically play?

A: Look, I have no technical skills. I can’t fix a CT scanner or do ultrasound probe repairs. What I can do is ask questions, and I’m not afraid to ask stupid questions. I also think I have a good understanding of the customers and what they expect.

I find that I’m frequently the one that looks outside the box and tries to explore alternative solutions before we make a recommendation to the customer. At the end of the day my goal is to reduce the customers' out-of-pocket expenses, even if that means more work for the MXR team.

Q: Where did you learn about quality customer service?

A: My dad has owned and operated a construction company since before I was born. At a young age, I remember going from one construction site to the next and watching my dad deal with his customers and set expectations for his guys on how things need to be done. In many cases his customers literally saved for years before they hired my dad to do a job. They simply can’t afford for things to go wrong.

My father taught me how important it is to be honest and respectful to the customer, especially in an industry where that doesn’t always happen. There are lots of shady characters in construction. It is easy to make a quick buck and disappear but that is not the way to build a future.

Early on it was easy to see that my dad was in it for the long game. Your reputation is everything. In construction, word of mouth is your best friend or worst enemy. I feel that it is the same in the healthcare industry.

Today my dad has more jobs than he could ever hope to complete, and I’m convinced that is directly tied to his reputation with customers. That is the same kind of reputation that we are building for MXR Imaging.

Q: How do you implement this customer-centric philosophy across the entire company?

A: This company has been family owned for over six decades. The average tenure of our employees is over ten years, and we have some employees who have been with the company for over 35 years. We have customers today that we used to deliver film to daily 20 plus years ago. We clearly understand that if we want customers to be loyal to us, we must be loyal to our customers.

The MXR Imaging leadership team is absolutely committed to a customer-first approach to running our business. I guess what I’m saying is that as a company, our goal is to build partnerships with our customers. When I jump into a service situation like this, it’s the best way I know to make sure that every employee in this company understands what our leadership expects.

At MXR Imaging, we believe that exceptional customer service is built on trust, communication, and commitment. Our dedicated team is always ready to go above and beyond to support our partners in the healthcare space.

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