One of the easiest and best ways of offending your patients in your dental practice is to leave them alone or unattended at any point you can during their dental practice visit.
When you leave a patient alone, and they are spending hundreds and maybe thousands of dollars on this visit to your dental office, it sends the patient a message that your office is taking advantage of them.
Leaving a patient alone for any amount of time only allows that patient time to think and ponder that your office is simply just taking that patient and their business and custom for granted.
Because if your office was not taking the patient for granted, you’d have a team member sitting there with the patient talking with them and keeping them occupied.
And keeping them distracted from their anguish and anticipation, and fears.
You see, sometimes as dentists and as dental practice employees, we forget the emotions that our patients are going through each and every time that they have to visit our dental office.
We become blasé about what really is an emotional event for our patients.
And we should not become blasé.
We should always be mindful and considerate.
One rule we always abided by in my dental office was that no patient is ever left alone for even the smallest amount of time….
EVER!!
They are our customer.
They are paying us.
And we need to be there for them…
ALWAYS!!
As coaches we teach this principle and reinforce it…
it’s a NON-NEGOTIABLE.
Here are the times at your dental practice where patients should always have company, and not be left unattended:
- On arrival at your front office reception area.
- In the client lounge prior to being invited to the treatment room.
- On their journey from the client lounge to the treatment room.
- In the treatment room. Before treatment. During treatment. After treatment.
- On their journey from the treatment room back to the dental reception area.
- In the front office area after treatment has been completed.
- In the front office area before scheduling their next visit.
- In the front office area when it’s time to complete the payment.
- Departing the dental office.
Does your dental office have a full patient protocol for each patient’s visit, that clearly stipulates what should be being done for the patient, and what should not be being done for the patient at each touch point that the patient experiences?
Or is your dental office just taking it’s patients for granted?
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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