It’s often the simple things in our business that you can overlook, especially when it comes to the consistent delivery of customer service.

This is a recent conversation I had with a friend who went to her dental appointment:

“I had an interesting experience a few weeks ago when I went to a new Dental Practice for the first time as a New Patient. I walked into the practice and went up to the desk and no one even acknowledged that I had walked in or that I was a new patient at the practice. They finally looked up from their desk and said, “take a seat.” I was quite disappointed that they didn’t ask my name or even engage in any conversation with me, even just to ask me how my day was, would have been nice. I know the young girl at my local supermarket always says hello and asks me how I am. I was confused as the girl I spoke to on the phone seemed really nice. Oh well.”

This is a great example of a customer service/ patient experience miss match.

The customer service my friend experienced on the first phone call when she scheduled her appointment did not match what she received on arrival at the practice.

This can be a deal breaker when it comes time for the patient to go ahead with treatment and care after their first appointment.

Your patients hear warning bells when they arrive at your practice and do not receive the same acknowledgement and customer service that they received on the phone call a few days before.

You might be thinking, surely this would not make that much difference. Well, it does.

Did you know that research shows 89% of consumers are more likely to make another purchase after a positive customer service experience. (Salesforce Research)

How you make your patients feel is what differentiates you from all the other dental practices. I know you like to believe it’s your amazing dentistry, but it is how you make your patients feel that really makes the difference. Of course, you must always give your patients the very best dentistry as well!

So, it’s time to make sure everyone in your business is on the same page when it comes to customer service, patient experience and satisfaction.

Are you hitting the mark on that very first patient phone call and then when the patient arrives at your practice?

Customer Service is not something you do now and then by some people and not by others.

Customer Service is aiming to hit the mark every single time by every person on your team.

Watch out for the people on your team who are not doing this. It might not be because team members don’t want to deliver customer service, it can be because people on your team don’t know how to deliver excellent customer service.

Customer Service IS teachable. Everyone can learn HOW TO deliver excellent customer service with the right teacher.

The great part about delivering excellent customer service to your patients is your patients will LOVE IT and you will LOVE delivering it.

Customer Service really is a win win and MUST be part of what you do every single day at your practice.

You DO NOT want to be the practice where you sound great on the phone but when the patient arrives at your practice, they have an awful experience.

“Customer service shouldn’t just be a department, it should be the entire company.” Tony Hsieh