One of the interesting things that frustrates consumers and customers in the hospitality industry is the amount of unexpected “variety” that can be presented to them, when all they [the consumer] wants is what they always get every other time.
I guess that’s why fast food outlets are so popular.
And that’s because a Big Mac bought in Times Square is the same as a Big Mac bought in Piccadilly Circus.
Same same.
Consistency.
What you ask for is what you get.
What you don’t get is:
“Oh, that’s how WE DO IT here. We do it differently.”
“Could I have a Gin and Tonic Please?”
How many different ways are there to make a gin and tonic?
Well, there are different types of Gin.
There are different types of tonic water.
There are different garnishes… some people prefer lemon. Some people prefer lime. Some people prefer Orange. Some people prefer rosemary… the list goes on.
Would you like your gin in a short glass or a tall glass?
And then there are the unasked questions…
Would you like just a couple of ice cubes, or would you like a mountain of ice, so you can’t get your lips or tongue anywhere near the gin?
Would you like a dash of tonic, or would you like a glass of tonic with a dash of gin [that you can hardly taste]?
How about an Eggs Benedict for breakfast?
Traditionally, eggs benedict is served with eggs, bacon, and hollandaise sauce, on two halves of an English muffin, or on toast. Spinach is often included as an ingredient.
As a Pescatarian, I choose to substitute smoked salmon for the bacon, and I prefer no spinach. If avocado is available, I’ll have that included.
And I prefer sourdough toasted as my base.
Last week…
Last week, at a place I visit regularly when I’m away from home, my instructions were interpreted differently to what I have previously experienced, and my eggs benedict arrived as eggs, hollandaise sauce and avocado on toast, with smoked salmon on the side…
Which meant that I literally had to lift up the eggs and the avocado off the toast and slide in the salmon between them…
I didn’t think making an eggs benedict was that complicated?
Sometimes it’s the same when I ask for a Gin and Tonic
When I’m out and I order a Gin and tonic, I have to ask for a Tanqueray Gin and tonic, in a short glass, three or four cubes of ice, a piece of lime, and only a dash of tonic. Or with a bottle of tonic on the side.
Because I hate to see my gin being drowned out by too much tonic. Or by too much ice.
Making a good Gin and Tonic is a skill.
And I despise lemon in gin…
In your dental practice…
In your dental practice, are your customer service processes being drowned out by over-indulgence in technical “stuff” that detracts from their patient experience?
Is your whizz-bang online appointment setting software too robotic, and is it turning away those patients of yours who really just want to talk with a dental employee who is willing to assist them and help solve their problem?
We found that the use of computer software to transfer notes and alerts between team members in the clinic actually DETRACTED from the world class aura of customer service excellence we had created by using conversation, and verbal exchanges.
In fact, I remember spending a day consulting at a prosthodontist’s office and sitting in reception watching the receptionist tell each patient who had emerged unaccompanied from the treatment room:
“I’m just waiting to see what the computer tells me to do next.”
And then watching more than half of those patients leave the office without a next appointment.
Whereas in my practice, when patients were accompanied to the dental reception after their treatment, and handed over correctly using THE ULTIMATE DENTAL HANDOVERTM, one hundred percent of them would leave with an appointment that was CONFIRMED, and was KEPT.
The clients of mine that have implemented this same ULTIMATE DENTAL HANDOVERTM process in their own practices have seen dramatic results impacting positively in their appointment books, and in their production, and their profitability.
The thing is….
The thing is, technology is all well and good if it creates an efficiency, but if that efficiency detracts from your endline purpose, and that is maintaining profit in your business, then you’ve got to ask the question, is it really worth having?
As a dentist, I found that drawing a treatment plan for a patient with a pencil and a paper chart in the treatment room took far less time than waiting for someone to data enter the treatment as I spoke it out verbally, tooth by tooth…. The paper treatment plan was later transferred to the computer by another team member…. allowing me to go and continue with my next patient’s appointment.
Although pencil and paper are “old-fashioned”, in this case they were a better use of my time than waiting on computer data entry.
And a better use of the patient’s time too.
It all comes down to…
It all comes down to getting your portions correct, and not overdosing too heavily on things that are distractions from your core values, which in dentistry should always be customer experience firstly, and length of appointment secondly.
If you ask any patient whether they’d like to spend less time in the dental chair, or more time, they’d all answer “less time” one hundred percent of the time…
Like I said, sometimes we all get caught up in the whizz-bang, and we forget about the human side of what we are trying to achieve…
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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