The Red Cross finds itself in a unique position when it comes to the nonprofit world. It’s been around for 130 years, and the brand itself is simply ubiquitous at best and over-exposed at worst. Of course, just because people are familiar with what you do doesn’t mean they’re lining up to support your work. Having such a recognizable and commonplace brand (like United Way, YMCA, and Boys and Girls Clubs) can be difficult when it comes to marketing yourself and soliciting donors and volunteers.
The Red Cross also has a hard go of it because it’s the only volunteer experience that I know of that requires you to willingly injure yourself. Sure, you can get careless and trip over a stack of hammers at a Habitat build or strain your back while playing with young kids during a Big Brothers Big Sisters outing, but if you want to help the Red Cross, you’ve got to let someone stick a needle into your arm.
Because of this, I understand that the Red Cross is faced with certain challenges that many nonprofits don’t necessarily have to deal with. Likewise, a lot of people literally can’t help the Red Cross based on personal history or their inability to do anything related to needles and blood.
I empathized with the Red Cross. I cut them slack. But not any more. I’m sorry, Red Cross, but we’re breaking up.
I was proud to give blood. I didn’t brag about my donations, but there is a certain level of machismo that goes into coolly walking into the facilities and not wincing when someone finds a vein and dives in. The sticker I got at the end and the accompanying arm bandage made for good conversation – and recruitment – the rest of the day. I never gave begrudgingly or halfheartedly. I treated each donation with pride and thankfulness.
I let it slide when you first compromised your customer service. You’re doing serious work, so if no one greets me with a smile in the lobby when I sign in, I guess it’s simply the culture you’re trying to sell. No joking around and friendliness? Okay. You are dealing with life and death, after all.
I even overlooked the fact that you continued to misspell the word calendar, preferring “calender” instead when it came to reminding me when I could donate again. Of course, you copied your “calenders” roughly 50 times and put them in the lobby. Certainly such frequency and publicity would have allowed someone in your marketing department the chance to catch the error. But, no worries. You have to get blood to dying people; no time to spell check.
I looked past other things: I showed up on time to appointments but you were never ready; your people in some national call center keep calling me to sign me up to donate to the point where I’m annoyed; mailers keep coming to my house, pitching me like I’m not already bought in to what you’re doing; your rewards program for loyal donors offers poorly made merchandise, stuff no one wants to wear or keep. But hey, you’ve got other things to do, and I liked you, so I stayed.
Until today.
All loyal donors have tales like this, but I simply can no longer pretend to ignore how you’re treating me. I’m trying to act like a loyal customer but you’re treating me like anything but. If I gave Marriott or Starbucks this much attention, I’d be staying for free in Maui while drinking my weight in a complimentary vanilla latte by now. It is okay to take a page out of the corporate customer service handbook once in a while.
Today, as I made my way to the uncomfortable donor chair, I was dealt what was clearly a trainee. I could tell by her confused look, the fact she kept dropping things, and the other technician who was reminding her of what to do. I was scared of this. Sure the needle may miss it’s mark, but people have to learn. Of course, an introduction would have been nice. Even an explanation that Betty was training today but that Jean was going to be supervising to make sure everything was okay. Hell, even Chili’s lets me know when I’ve got a rookie waiter, and bringing gigantic glasses of margaritas and that rust-colored dip with crack in it to tables doesn’t take that much of an orientation.
But you offered none of that. Just business as usual. My arm was swabbed with iodine, the vein found, and the needle inserted. Everything seemed normal to me, until Jean let Betty know that blood was trickling down my arm. This hadn’t happened before.
“We forgot to clamp one of the lines,” I was told. The needle was removed and pressure applied. My arm was then wrapped.
“Looks like we can’t take any more blood today, but since we barely started, we’ll enter this into the system so you can come back and donate tomorrow.”
No “I’m sorry”? No “We’re trying our best to offer an experience that motivates to you keep donating. This is a little, rare mistake. Please come back soon and donate again.” No “Your gift is very important. It literally saves lives. So, even though we messed up – it’s a necessary risk when doing what we do – we’d love for you to come back again and help us out.”
It’s not just the war story; every blood donor has those. It’s the mishap paired with the utter neglect of what’s going on. Many nonprofits would kill to have the loyal support the Red Cross enjoys. Many nonprofits with a fraction of the budget have offered better volunteer experiences. It’s like you don’t care about me. You just want to suck my blood.
As such, we’re done. My blood will now be going to participate in the Vanderbilt AIDS Clinical Trials. I went to an orientation a few years ago and was very impressed with the attention and support. I should have broken up with you then, left you for a younger model who seemed to care more about me. But I didn’t. I tried to stay loyal. But I can’t anymore. My customer-centric mind and my willing veins simply can’t stand the sight of you or your lobby anymore. It’s not me, it’s you. Godspeed.
Photo Credit: Charleston’s TheDigitel
{ 66 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m so sorry to hear about your experience. You make an excellent point: nonprofit volunteers and donors are similar to corporate customers in many ways. It is essential to provide a good experience in order to retain loyal customers, no matter what kind of product, service or opportunity an organization provides.
Hi Agnes: Thanks for the comment.
I think the time has come when nonprofits can no longer use the “we’re just a nonprofit” excuse for providing an inferior anything. You’re right: good customer service is essential.
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! I actually did not experience the excessive reminders – in fact, just the opposite. I was never reminded and ended up doing it on my own or when there were blood drives in my building. The final straw was when a phlebotomist completely blew out a vein in my left arm after poking around with the needle SIX times to try to start a line. I had ‘needle trauma’ for a couple of years afterward and big surprise: she never apologized.
It’s sad when a nonprofit that does such amazing work can’t even manage to run its most basic volunteer operation. Makes you wonder what else is going on – or not going on – behind the scenes…
Elisa: Wow. I hate to hear stories like that. The worst part (not to make light of your vein and needle issues) is that no apology was offered.
And, you’re right: this is a basic component of what they do. It’s not some new thing or some small thing. It’s a core function. You have to get the basics right.
Excellent post for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which is a good reminder about how nonprofits should treat their volunteers and donors.
Thanks, Ben! Thanks for sharing on Facebook, too!
Excellent post. Just because you are a nonprofit agency does not mean you are supposed to neglect the donors. My hubby and I are universal donors. This means that we get called every 2 weeks to donate even though we can’t donate that much. SO we have decided to donate elsewhere. PS the Red Cross charges the hospital at Fort Campbell tons of money to get blood to their hospital, even if they donate at the Army Corps of Engineers downtown where my hubby works and it is military peeps donating they then have to pay to get the blood. So even though we donate freely and willingly, evidentally the Red Cross decides to charge to let our blood go!
Thanks for the input, Amy! See Joe’s post below about buying blood. I don’t konw anything about that aspect, but it seems very interesting – something worth looking into.
great point! as an avid blood donor myself, I find so much of this to be true. thanks for the link!
No problem! Thanks for the reminder on Twitter!
Sam,
Bravo for you being a blood donor – and for finding another organization to give your blood to as well. Might I suggest you contact your local hospital – as I worked as a fund-raiser for a community hospital in Santa Monica and we had to spend almost $1m annually to buy blood (from Red Cross, etc), do to surgeries, etc.
Also, people should know that blood only “keeps” for a month – so after large disasters (i.e., 9/11) people who want to help should coordinate times with their local blood center – to stagger their donations.
When I donated at the community hospital (every 56 days) the staff was always pleasant, remembered my name, happy to see me, and offered me cookies and Orange Juice afterwards. That’s more than I can say for some of my staff meetings, which are almost as painful.
Hey Joe: Great idea! Once I finish this clinical vaccine trial, I will reach out to a local hospital. I hope to have a much better experience.
And, sadly, I have no easy remedies for staff meetings.
I started refusing to give blood to the Red Cross in college, when they refused to take blood from any of my male homosexual/bisexual friends.
Apparently gay people are the only ones who have HIV/AIDS.
And gay people all must have HIV/AIDS. Or be at risk.
And heterosexual people are much safer against the disease, what with all the protected safe sex, clean drug needle use and whatnot.
Any organization that claims to be routed in science and medicine yet makes such ridiculous guidelines and statements is not one to be trusted, in my opinion.
Agreed. They ask me those questions each time. I should have connected the dots instead of clicking “yes” or “no” so I could speed things along.
Elisa – I work at the Red Cross, and we are very much aware of the issues surrounding the ban on donating blood given to gay men. This is a decision that rests with the FDA, since the Red Cross must follow rules set by the FDA regarding the collection of blood. It was recently up for review and we’ve recommended that the FDA revise the rule, but unfortunately it was upheld. You can see the statement here:
http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.94aae335470e233f6cf911df43181aa0/?vgnextoid=89859fee79f79210VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD
Sam – thanks for your well-written post; you certainly have some valid and interesting points on customer service and I’d like to do what I can to make sure people within our organization hear them.
Hi Gloria:
Thanks for listening – and for weighing in. I appreciate your willingness.
And thanks for the FDA info. Very interesting stuff; glad you shared it.
Until they lift the ban on gay blood, I will never donate blood to the Red Cross.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37599992/ns/health-aids/
It’s the 21st century, each sample can be tested before used. That ban needs to go away.
Thanks for that link, Nancy. Very good point.
The gay men in my life agree to a man with me that it is pointless and wasteful to protest the Indefinite Deferrment by withholding desperately needed blood.
Instead, we all suggest that you donate as a Proxy Donor. Whenever you go to give blood, have the volunteer record that the blood is being given in the name of whatever homosexual man you are donating in proxy for.
That way the protest is registered, there is an official record of the discriminatory practise and they still have the blood.
WHAT? i had no idea. my jaw is dropped.
Sam, I’m so sorry that you’ve had this experience with the Red Cross…I don’t have any defense for the experiences you’ve had, only to say that this is something that all non-profits, especially large non-profits, struggle with. We’re strapped for resources, have too much work on all of our plates (I work for the American Cancer Society), and we often fail to delight the very people who support the important mission work that we do. And we can’t do this important work without you. We need to do better. We MUST to better, if we’re to have a place in solving the world’s problems.
From the bottom of my non-profit loving heart, I’m sorry. For my part, and the part of the people I work with and *for*, to create a world with less cancer – I will do better.
Hey Jenn: Thanks for being honest and humble and being a great example of what’s needed more in the nonprofit sector.
As I mention, I’m not done donating blood; I’m done with the Red Cross getting it, though (for now, until they improve). The key is – as you mention – to “delight the very people who support the important mission and work that we do.” More organizations need to keep that central. It can be done. Best of luck to you as you model it.
The mission is too important to take anything lightly. Thanks for commenting.
I don’t blame you. Though I have never worked with the Red Cross, I myself have broken up with volunteering in general due to exactly this kind of issue.
http://tooxyz.blogspot.com/2010/04/volunteering-sucks-so-far.html
In case you were wondering why.
I hear your frustration, Ty, and like you, I’ve ditched volunteer opportunities when they haven’t matched up well with my skill sets. When I’m looking to volunteer now, I look for an org that I genuinely want to help, and then reach out and tell them what *I* have to offer, rather than looking to fill needs that they state on their websites. When I’ve reached out to offer assistance that are within my strengths – marketing/design/social media, rather than looking to fill the office help needs they generally post, we both end up winning. They may not think to ask for help with niche/tech projects, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need or want the help. It’s made my volunteering work much more fulfilling. I also heard a story on NPR’s Marketplace show last night about Catchafire.org which matches skilled volunteers with non-profits – I think that’s the way to go with recruiting younger, tech savvy volunteers!
Thanks for sharing your post, Ty. Very well thought out.
I think Jenn has some really good points. You’re lucky if you can find an opportunity that matches a talent or passion. It’s rare (unfortunately), but doable.
Good ideas. I will check out that website, thank you.
Sam, I love it when people challenge us to do better. Grassroots change is at its best when people keep it real and tackle what’s not working together. As an employee and volunteer of the Red Cross, you bet I’d like to take you up on on your offer to get that cup of coffee while you’re in town sometime. When will you be in Chicago? If I make my way to Nashville, I’ll look you up. I promise to pay for the coffee and truly listen the whole time if you show up.
Thanks for weighing in, Jackie! I’m glad you’re willing to listen to what’s not working and try to improve. That’s a great way that organizations can get better.
I will reach out when I’m in Chicago next. Thanks for the offer!
I”m looking forward to it. But I’ll warn you… If you have great ideas and experience in improving it, I may try to recruit you to help.
I think next time Sam’s in Chicago, we’ll have to have a mini-NPO summit and conspire on creating awesomeness in the volunteer experience. Consider the ante upped, Sam!
I’m in.
I’m in, too. I’ll email each of you about how we can make this happen.
Jenn, I completely agree. More than 90% of the work of the Red Cross gets done by volunteers and usually our best volunteers don’t perfectly match a job description. They might be seasoned media spokespeople or retired operations executives who help us find better ways to do things. Within my team at Chicago Red Cross, we built volunteer opportunities around people, rather than the other way around.
Sam, thanks for this very thorough and thoughtful post. It makes me appreciate my local blood bank (shoutout to Puget Sound Blood Center!) even more–they offer plenty of appreciation and reassurance along with the juice and cookies. I think your experience is a cautionary tale for large, often national nonprofits that brand isn’t enough. I doubt Red Cross HQ (which I worked for briefly as a college student) would condone the kind of sloppy service in their neighborhood blood centers, but they seem not to be aware of it, or to know what to do about it. Organizations of that size need to ensure that the quality of their brands seeps all the way down the chain of command to the rookies, whether phlebotomists or desk volunteers. Chain retailers and restaurants already have that kind of brand training and quality assurance for their many branches–why doesn’t the Red Cross?
Thanks for weighing in, Elizabeth. As others have pointed out, perhaps the way to go is a more localized donor experience, which I’ll seek out soon.
I used to work at Marriott (the hotel company). Customer service was king, which is why I can demand a lot of it in other areas of life. It started at the top, though, and trickled down to each employee. I’d love to see larger, national nonprofits do the same.
I was done with the Red Cross after an experience I had working with one of their blood drive coordinators. I was the marking and events coordinator at a local hospital and once a year we would hold an annual blood drive where employees could donate. I met with the new Red Cross coordinator, told her that the hospital could only accommodate one drive once a year, and it was already set up for a few months in the future. She continued to call my office weekly asking me if we couldn’t just set up another one “really quickly.” I explained that due to policy, no, I could not schedule another drive at whim, but I’d be glad to let her talk to hospital administrators when she came by for the drive a few months later.
She continued to harass me, to the point of calling the hospital switchboard when I was on vacation one week and pretending to be a family member with an emergency who didn’t know my cell phone number. The switchboard transferred her to the pharmacy, where I had worked before, and she conned someone there into giving her my personal (I didn’t have a work cell phone) phone number so she could harass me while I was on vacation, too.
I know it wasn’t the fault of the people who need my blood, but that whole experience left me with a bad taste for the Red Cross.
Wow. Unreal. It definitely sucks when one person ruins something for the rest of this, and certainly Red Cross can’t keep track of every employee, but I wonder why this person thought that harassment was okay. Geez.
This post highlights a lot of what is wrong with the current state of Non Profit Organisations.
I don’t mean the Red Cross, Sam.
I mean YOU.
Fifteen years ago the Non Profit sector wasn’t the fertile career ground that has become in the last decade. It was mainly staffed with housewives, self-funded philanthropists and harried social-worker types putting in time after their already-full days. A few changes in the laws and tax code and a new generation later and here we are. A lot of hip new Gen Yers who are smugly self-satisfied with their Careers in Being Cool. Non Profits have become the new rock-star career. It’s a great way to put forth yourself as a sort of “I care about the world” kind of person while still earning a salary comparable to what one would find in a For Profit corporation.
I have had it past my eyebrows with the number of acquaintances I know who flaunt their NPC careers as a sort of badge of honour while at the same time looking down their noses at those of us who have jobs in the private sector at companies who donate enough to keep their NPCs in the black.
I thank the good God in heaven for the volunteers I encounter at the various NPCs I patronise. I’d rather deal with a dozen “incompetent” volunteers who seem clueless and disoriented than with one puffed up pompous professional do-gooder who has Gant-Charted his or her personal charity to the point of being yet another slickly printed four-colour brochure lining the bottom of my trash.
Why? Because most of the volunteers are in it because they genuinely want to help. Resumes be damned.
You referred to yourself as the “customer” in this experience. Think again, buddy. The CUSTOMER is the fellow on the gurney who was just pulled from the twisted wreckage that was left of his car after it was t-boned by a drunk driver. The CUSTOMER is the poor woman in the charity hospital who has placenta previa and is going through blood the way a fish goes through water. The CUSTOMER is the little girl whose head was split open after she took a tumble from the monkey bars and is consequently four litres of blood away from being brain dead.
YOU are not the customer. YOU are the CROP. You are the ear of corn. The Sea bass. The loaf of bread.
And as irritating as it may be to not always be the center of someone else’s attention, the fact of the matter is that when you refuse to give blood to the Red Cross PEOPLE DIE.
They do.not.live. Their lives are over. And they’ll never grow up to donate to your charity.
Thanks for your comment, Katherine. I can tell this is something you’re very passionate about, and that’s great to see!
Of course, we fundamentally disagree with one another, and that’s okay. I think that on the whole, the corporate-ness of many nonprofits makes them more effective. The corporate principles employed by the Red Cross makes their operation more efficient and better equipped to save more lives.
And, blaming me for the death of people is a bit extreme. I’m still donating blood and saving lives, now to an organization that is maybe a bit better at it.
Lastly, I do think I’m the customer. Every donor is. Customers provide revenue streams. Without them, NPs close the doors.
Again, I’m sure we can go around and around and neither of our minds will change. But I do thank you for stopping in and leaving a comment.
wow.
“YOU are not the customer. YOU are the CROP. You are the ear of corn. The Sea bass. The loaf of bread.”
This statement is something that will have me thinking for a very long time.
I’ve spent the last four years of my career helping nonprofits do what they do better. My help has been focused on helping small nonprofits employ sound business and marketing principles. In short, they learn to communicate to people where they are and meet that need one on one.
Cool People Care and Sam Davidson have both been instrumental in showing by example how to use love and kindness to move the effort forward.
It is human nature to want to be treated well and thanked and respected. Yes, we are the crop, the corn, the sea bass, the loaf of bread – but for these things, we give thanks.
I have heard a few stories such as yours and am disheartened to learn that these cases exist. I second the huge need for improvement, but am optimistic that these improvements are not only attainable, but will be accomplished.
Having been a recent volunteer, I can attest that there are far more positive experiences than negative. I say this not simply because I represented this organization. I am fairly new to the non-profit sector and can say with totally certainty that my chapter and other Red Cross chapters I have corresponded with are full of people who have an amazing dedication to helping others, unlike any I have seen.
I must bring one area to light: Red Cross doesn’t require volunteers to “injure” themselves. Helping the Red Cross is more than giving a pint of blood. It is a request to donate a part of your life and give it to others, in many different forms. There are dozens of different programs that reach the community, the majority run by volunteers. From assisting people on disaster scenes, providing children with vaccinations, tracing loved ones who lost connection during a war to offering humanitarian law and emergency preparedness training. All run by volunteers. If donating blood proved to be a negative experience, I assure you there are other areas that would give you a broader view of what this organization really does.
But, back to blood. Your unfortunate experience is an example where steps are needed to improve the services that are provided. My hope would be that instead of being deterred by an uncomfortable chair or a nervous volunteer, a person may see the broader scope of what HAS been done by the Red Cross to assist those in need. That, I think, speaks for itself.
Nik, this has also been my experience.
Sam, I suspect you actually have a captive Red Cross audience on this subject among volunteers. Red Cross volunteers know it can be done better. That’s why they show up. I often watch them relentlessly do whatever it takes to be part of the solution amidst the most devastating circumstances imaginable – whether it’s to a home damaged by fire to provide shelter, to a warzone to provide humanitarian law and relief, or to the aftermath of man-made disaster like a University campus shooting to provide mental health support.
Red Cross volunteers are people who are usually go into the areas that most people are leaving.
They face the unthinkable and unimaginable simply because there is a need. I suppose they do injure themselves. They certainly feel the sting of their shortcomings and try to change things for the better. They’re listening and want you to work with them to be part of the solution to the greatest capacity that you can contribute. To them, serving the people helped by the Red Cross is a movement, so if it isn’t working for them, they move it.
I guess what I’m saying is, “they” is “you,” as long as you decide to be.
I agree, Jackie. I think things can get better, which is why I wrote. If I truly didn’t care, I would have kept my bad experiences to myself and walked away quietly. But, since posting this, a great dialog has ensued and I really think things will get better and that I’ll be a donor again.
Hey Nik: Thanks for your comment. A lot of Red Cross folks have left comments here, and I’m grateful for that. And, thanks for the reminder that there are other, much-needed ways to volunteer with you all. That can’t be ignored.
And, just as a reminder, I’m not basing my decision on one experience with the Red Cross, but a series of them. It was more than a mishap with a needle (I fully expect that to happen; it’s a necessary risk).
This is such an interesting post. I am one of those people too afraid to give blood. I’ll happily do it at my Dr.’s office when they need blood work and they only take a couple vials. Plus, the girl who does it is a pro! I no longer look to the side and wince. I don’t even feel her working. However, I get dizzy after giving just 3 vials so I’ve never been one to get excited about donating to the Red Cross. My mom does though. They come to her work once a year and she always does it. She has that universal blood type that they like.
I recently worked at a place called Communities Foundation of (the state I live in). We helped non-profits get off the ground, helped manage them and their finances, sent out donor receipts and pretty much anything else they needed. Some did do a lot of the work themselves, others did not and completely depended on us. Sometimes it was hard to sympathize with them when they actually had no idea what was going on with their non-profit. And these are very small and mostly rural non-profits. It’s so sad to read about the Red Cross and it’s shortcomings. As such a large, national non-profit things like proof reading should be of great importance. It’s too bad they don’t have someone there to enforce how important it is to their image. One bad experience is all it takes for hundreds of people to decide, “well, I won’t go there anymore.” Because who wants to risk having the same experience as someone else? The Red Cross needs to know about the bad experiences. They are doing an important, vital job.
I could go on forever…so I’ll stop there.
Thanks for commenting. I’m glad you’ve seen shortcomings firsthand and have done your part to help nonprofits out. Luckily, this post has gotten some attention and it looks like things are improving!
I get frequent e-mail and snail mail from the Red Cross asking me to donate my blood. However, I lived abroad in London for 6 months and have been advised not to donate because I might be carrying mad cow. Nevermind that I didn’t eat beef during the time I lived there.
Also, it would be helpful for the Red Cross to develop a system whereby they can suspend communication for a set period of time. That way if you get a new tattoo, you won’t be contacted for a year, when you’re actually qualified to give blood again. Systems like that would go a long way.
Well put. I think they’re trying to streamline things. My wife got the same barrage of requests when she was pregnant. Certainly there’s a software that can plan these things.
Hi Sam
What a great blog entry! I work in a not-for-profit hospital managing the volunteer program with more than 350 dedicated, wonderful, inspiring people. They are the heart and soul of our service and, I believe, one of the reasons we are able to achieve our mission.
I have had many challenging moments where I have felt that management of the organisation just don’t fully understand the needs of our volunteers and do not always make decisions with their interests and needs in mind. I truly wish more volunteers were like you and would “vote with their feet” to send a message to management that it isn’t ok to treat them as second rate. As Jenn said, we should have to “delight the very people who support this important mission work we do” – and not just the people who work directly with volunteers, but everyone from the ground up to upper management. I wish more volunteers were willing to put aside their passion for a cause, even for a moment, to send a clear message that they sometimes deserve better, by breaking up with us – even until organisations get their act together!
Good customer service isn’t difficult.
As it is, I am voting with my feet and am looking for an organisation in which to work so that I feel the work I am doing supporting and nurturing volunteers will be valued and encouraged, and that those volunteers I support feel that they are important and listened-to, and are a cherished part of the organisation.
Good work on starting such a great conversation.
Thanks for the comment! I think nonprofits can improve – this is why I wrote the post. If I didn’t care about the Red Cross getting better, I’d have left, not said anything ever, and moved on. But, because the mission of so many nonprofits is so vital, they need to get and retain all the volunteers they can!
I came across this blog by accident. I have NEVER encountered such narcissism. How could you possibly care if you had a good experience giving blood? A customer? I find this post and the comments following unbelievable.
Sam – Love the blog entry — I will be try my best to be an avid reader now.
Joan – Sorry to break the news, but as a former employee of this organization…they ‘need your blood’ because it is the lifeline of their funds (selling it to hospitals/whoever). Yes giving blood is good — but the way the ARC goes about it is not. I recently broke up with them in November.
Thanks for sharing your story, Steve.
Steve – the ARC collects money from hospitals on a cost recovery basis. It costs money to recruit and screen potential donors. It costs money to organize, move, and maintain equipment and staff to collect blood nationwide. It costs money to process the blood, to store it, and to distribute it. Hospitals pay the Red Cross for the blood so that we can continue to collect it… that money doesn’t go into our disaster funds or funds for other services.
I see your frustration and I would have done the same. I feel like nonprofits aren’t exactly in the kind of business where they can just spare to lose a couple clients here and there. It’s too bad this reality wasn’t noticed sooner. It’s sad to see how doing the bare minimum, if that even, can have an effect on such a large scale. Take your experience for example, how many lives do they like to say you’re saving every time you donate blood? In all seriousness, one poor customer service experience could be the deciding factor for whether or not someone gets to live. Extreme, I know, however an interesting angle to examine.
Thanks for sharing, Michelle. And thanks for stopping by – I’m glad I found your blog now. Nonprofits – like any business – must remember that each customer/donor/volunteer matters. The work is too important to forget this.
What I don’t like about blood donation is that regular people volunteer and donate the blood but then it’s sold to hospitals who then re-sell it — and charge and arm and a leg for it — maybe even selling it back to the very people who donated it who now need it. So, it’s not all charitable. That part is very disappointing.
It’s interesting that so many folks brought that process to light. Frankly it was something I was ignorant of while donating. Of course, Red Cross needs to stay afloat and balance income and expenses, and I’m not sure of all the intricate financials thereof.
As someone who works professionally in the non-profit world, I applaud this article. Creating an environment where volunteers (in any capacity) feel a part of the experience is key in retaining and engaging volunteers for the future. Your article caught my eye because personally I’ve always raised eyebrows towards the Red Cross while wondering where/what their money actually goes towards; Text donation marketing schemes? However, that’s something I need to research more of.
Thanks for your comment, JoAnn. I agree that volunteer retention is key and a few simple changes could help many organizations do just that.
I gave blood in high school for the red cross,
1 – nobody told me my doctor was deaf
2 – I went into shock while he was tending to someone else, and he could not see my lips moving
3 – my tongue cramped up, followed by the rest of my body, so reading my lips didn’t work well
4 – i regained some control of my tongue and was able to studder out I want to call my mom
his reply, we’ll pay for the ambulance, felt like several minutes later I was able to again studder out, i don’t care I want to call my mom
5 i got the bill for the ambulance
6 they called me later and asked if I wanted to donate blood again…….
we broke up a LONG time ago
those employees get paid and the CEO makes over 40,000 a year. they can smile or something.
My husband used to give to the Red Cross as well. I let him know that when the hospital I work at is low on blood products we have to buy them from the RC. Since then he has been giving directly to the hospital. They are very nice to him and send him home with lots of nice gifts! Their customer service beats the pants off the RC!
It sounds like you’ve discovered a great alternative! I’m glad you didn’t give up on blood donation altogether because of your experiences with the red cross. I gave blood for the first time this past February to the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center…and was treated with gratitude and respect.
My post: http://giveeveryday.com/blog/2011/02/19/day-15-give-blood-with-the-south-texas-blood-tissue-center/.
Hi Stephanie:
I’m so glad to hear your experience was a great one! I’m also being treated very well at the Vanderbilt trial and I’m glad, too, that I found a great alternative. Here’s to each of us keeping on giving!
I found this while looking to see if others have had bad experiences with the Red Cross blood donation.
I donated at a mobile blood drive yesterday, and it was one of the worst most embarrassing experiences I had ever had.
The woman who checked me in couldn’t be bothered to interrupt her call on her cell phone, and when I had a question she shook the information book in my face. Sadly, this was just the beginning.
The nurse that inserted my needle must have some something wrong, because my blood squirted all over her. One of the other nurses then felt the need to state that “her blood hasn’t been tested, you don’t know what she has or where she’s been” REPEATEDLY. Six separate times in fact. There were other staff and patients, all hearing this. It was mortifying. I’m a scientist, I understand the risks of working with blood. I also understand the usefulness of personal protective equipment. If you’re so freaked out, or new at your job…there are masks and goggles available for you to wear.
I called the hotline, to open a complaint, not once through the entire process of donating, or complaining did someone offer me an apology for being treated in that way. This was only my second donation. I will continue to donate, but I’ve looked up alternatives in my area. The Red Cross won’t get another single drop of my blood again. These people are unbelievable.
I am breaking up too! Today I went to the Red Cross HQ to give blood. I have been getting calls and wanting to make it but I am a busy person and I have a lot jammed into my day. Also, my time is money, so I take time off work sparingly.
I went to HQ at 2:30pm today, August 10 and the office was open. The woman at the front asked if I was here to give platelets, I was not. I was here to give whole blood. She said sorry but they are closed, closes at 2pm on Friday.
ENOUGH ALREADY!!! I have written letters and left comments for the ARC to have consistent hours that fit my schedule. We are done ARC. NO MORE BLOOD FROM ME!!!
Over 25 years and I am done with your lack of customer service. It galls me to know that you take my blood for free and sell it to hospitals for hundreds of dollars per pint. And you then bug me to come in and you are not open. One Saturday per month??? WTF?? Clearly you are not really in that dire need of blood because if you were you would be open from 7am to 8pm every day of the week.
Get with the program ARC, you are not the only game in town. My blood is going straight to my local hospital.
SEE YA and don’t let your ass get hit on the way out.
Lorne Epstein
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