One of the things I hear often when I listen to and analyse phone calls is the LIES that people say on the phone, as if the act of telling lies is somehow OK or acceptable…..
I hear people say:
“I’ll get him to call you back.”
when we know full well, that the person they are talking about has NO INTENTION WHATSOEVER of ever returning the phone call…
I hear patients say to dentists:
“I need to think it over…”
when they are presented with a complicated treatment schedule to restore their mouth back to true health.
And we know full well that when that patient leaves that dental office, they’ll be cheering for themselves “on the inside” because they will feel as though they’ve dodged a bullet and avoided getting booked in for what they [the patient] believes to be painful treatment.
When we all know that having the dental treatment completed is in that patient’s best interests…. their mouth will be healthier and they will also look more attractive.
And of course, we all know that when the patient says they “need to think it over” they have no intention of spending even one minute thinking ANYTHING AT ALL over whatsoever…
I wish I’d been given a dollar for every time I’ve heard a phone call where a patient has phoned a dental practice to cancel an appointment for treatment, or they’ve phoned to postpone a scheduled appointment for necessary treatment, and the dental receptionist has said:
“That’s OK.”
How in heck is it ever OK for patients to cancel an appointment for necessary dental treatment?
How is it OK for patients to delay needed treatment and allow caries to advance closer to the nerve of their tooth, or let periodontal infections permanently destroy healthy necessary alveolar bone…
When a patient fails to go ahead with treatment…
When a patient fails to go ahead with diagnosed treatment as presented, it is because we as health care professionals have failed to educate them about the downsides of their choice of inaction…
When a patient says they want to think it over and we let them, it is our failure to emphasise the importance of taking action over inactivity, and it is OUR FAILURE in helping them understand that inactivity is not a status quo, but rather, is an active state of continuing destruction and damage.
When we allow someone to give us the flick pass of passing on our message and supposedly asking someone to phone us back, when we know they never will, we have let that person down, because we have failed to emphasise the importance of our intended conversation…
I’ve had many a friend chastise me over the years for failing to chase them down and share important messages with them. Yet it was those same friends who for whatever reason decided to not return my call and investigate the reason for me calling them in the first place…
I know it’s their loss, but on the flip side, maybe I should have been more passionate about informing them about the benefits of my advice….
The trouble is…
The trouble is that a lot of people out there would rather slide under the water into a swamp of their own mediocrity, and accept average as the new excellent…
The problem is that lying about “average” doesn’t cut it and won’t cut it in 2024, moving forwards.
Society needs to take responsibility for the levels of acceptance and tolerance that we now all have to endure.
Do not allow unacceptable behaviours to become the new black.
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Dr. David Moffet BDS FPFA CSP is a certified CX Experience coach. David works with his wife Jayne Bandy to help SME businesses improve their Customer Service Systems to create memorable World Class experiences for their valued clients and customers. Click here to find out how David and Jayne can help your business