VCS Patriot Store/Cafe Customer/VCS Focus Group/Patient Experience of Care Survey/VA Dental Service Customer Survey/Mental Health Satisfaction

VCS Focus Group Training

Introduction Script

Good morning and welcome. Thanks for taking the time to join our discussion about VCS.  My name is __, and I will serve as the moderator for today’s focus group discussion. Assisting me is___ and s/he will be taking notes of our discussion. The purpose of today’s discussion is to get information from you about what people think about the services of VCS – those include retail, café, coffee, and vending. You were invited because we know that you are familiar with VCS services and we are interested in learning about what things we are doing well as well as what things we can improve upon. There are no right or wrong answers to the questions I am about to ask. We expect that you will have differing points of view. Please feel free to share your point of view even if it differs from what others have said. If you want to follow up on something that someone has said, you want to agree, disagree, or give an example, feel free to do that. Don’t feel like you have to respond to me all the time. Feel free to have a conversation with one another about these questions. I am here to ask questions, listen, and make sure everyone has a chance to share. We’re interested in hearing from each of you. So if you’re talking a lot, I may ask you to give others a chance. And if you aren’t saying much, I may call on you. We just want to make sure we hear from all of you. Feel free to get up and get more refreshments if you would like. We have name tents here in front of us today, but no names will be included in anything that we are writing – we are only keeping a written record of the overall discussion and not what each person is saying. Lastly, if anyone needs to use the restroom in the next 20 minutes, they are down the hall and on the left. If that makes sense to everyone, let me ask the group if there are any ground rules that anyone thinks are important for us all to follow today. (suggest civility and privacy)

Focus Group Questions

1. V: What branch of service were you in and what was your exit station?

E: What was your first job in the VA?

2. How often do you visit the café, vending machines, retail store, or coffee shop?

3. What do you think about the quality of the products for the price that VCS offers?

4. How would you describe the options available from VCS?

1. Product selection

2. Healthy Options

1. What potential needs is VCS not meeting?

   1. Retail

   2. Café

   3. Coffee

   4. Vending

2. Based on your past visits, how can VCS improve upon the customer service experience?

3. What is your overall perception of the VCS?