To whom it may concern,
I wanted to take the time to acknowledge a series of positive interactions with a particular staff member here at Riverside. I have been on the program almost 2 months now and prior to that I was on waiting list approximately 4-5 weeks.
The first time I came into Riverside I had my first interactions with Hillary. I can personally say having been through various treatment programs I have encountered just about every kind of person you could imagine. I would like to say she has a very polite and genuine manner about her. She explained everything in detail, asked if there was anything else she could do to help/questions she could answer.
Since I was on waiting list for several weeks she even advised that I call each morning at 8:10 to 8:15 to see if there was any cancellations and they could possibly get me in sooner. I did do this and I would say 90% of the time when I would call she would answer and was always upbeat, energetic and encouraging. I came in a few times during the process of getting enrolled in treatment and there was at least 2 instances where I was discouraged by something and expressed this to her because I felt we had built some rapport. She is always upbeat and positive and really when I was having a rough time with intake process she reminded me as well as encouraged me to stick with it, I had came this far!Maybe to people who have lived different lives than myself, this is just her doing her job, in my book she is making a huge difference in people’s lives maybe when they need it most. I occasionally will call in during the course of my week with a question, or I receive a call myself from Riverside and most times it is her calling to remind me of an appointment with my counselor, etc. I have had calls from lakeside or called and spoken to other employees, they were always professional as well, just not that little extra. I hope this wasn’t too long or sappy, I had told my counselor about this and he suggested I type it up in an Email and send it in. I feel it’s important she receive some recognition, and I know from working in the service industry that people are like 80% more likely to go out of their way to complain. Unfortunately when someone does good people just expect it to be seen as “doing their job” I can say this employee went the extra mile and made a real difference when I was really having a rough time. The nature of your business and the fact people come here to make drastic changes in their lives, pretty serious and sometimes scary stuff. Having someone like her behind the front desk as the first face of lakeside people see, I would say she is a great representative, as well as a huge resource to your organization.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I can personally say this may seem like overkill, I cannot express enough what a difference she made. There were at least 2 occasions where I was seriously on the fence about sticking with treatment.
