The point of customer service is simple: You must "wow" every patient. If you achieve this, it will advance your practice and increase case acceptance, production, and income. So what is the first step? Every practice must begin by understanding what "wow" is.
What is wow?
Dr. Roger P. Levin.
Wow is a feeling on the part of the patient that you have exceeded their expectations. It is far more than simply providing excellent clinical care or having a generally nice appointment experience. Wow goes beyond that, and if you want to know if you have it, simply answer these questions as honestly as you can:
- Is your practice culture positive every single day? There can be some good days and some bad days when it comes to a positive environment. However, wow means that every day is an exceptional day in terms of the positivity of the culture and the team. The team must work in harmony with the singular objective of creating wow for every patient every day no matter what.
- Does every team member maintain a positive attitude all day every day? I have often explained in seminars that it only takes one bad mood in the practice to bring everybody down. It could be a toxic team member who does this every day or a "once in a blue moon" situation, but either way, you're not delivering wow.
- Do patients feel that they receive focused attention from the doctor and team? Running late, not greeting patients when they arrive, not being responsive to patient questions, or not being prepared for patients at the front desk all leave patients feeling that they aren't receiving focused attention. In fixing this, every staff member and the doctor should see themselves as a link in the chain. You will only be as good as the weakest link or weakest moment. If the patient has a generally good appointment experience but upon checkout does not, then the entire appointment will be deemed unpleasant. The patient will only experience wow when every link in the chain is strong at all times. That means that the patient should always be seen as a handoff from one team member or doctor to another at every moment of the appointment. And every handoff should lead to another great moment. Thanking, complimenting, and helping patients all go to the heart of creating wow.
- Do patients feel that your practice is easy and convenient? Many consultants will advise you to run a completely rigid schedule; however, this often forces patients into inconvenient appointments. This can result in some new patients or current active patients canceling or not showing up for appointments.
3 steps to wow every day
- Step 1: Be happy. You need a team of people who genuinely want patients to be happy and for this to happen, the team must be happy. We met one assistant who was severely in debt, recently divorced, and back living with her mother with whom she did not get along. However, when she walked into the office every day, she became positive and inspired everyone else. Although she wasn't happy with the current direction of her life, she was generally a happy person who shared her happiness with everyone around her. The key is to explain to the team that the practice culture requires a positive, energized, and happy environment every day, no matter what. This starts with the attitude, comments, and behavior of the doctor. My suggestion is to increase your enthusiasm immediately and keep it there permanently.
- Step 2: Implement systems. You must implement a customer service system that ensures that:
- Every patient is greeted as they walk in the door.
- The practice runs on time or communicates when it is running late with a small apology gift.
- The doctor communicates clearly about the treatment progress.
- The office checks in with patients via phone calls or texts.
- The front desk accommodates the patient's favorite appointment times, etc.
The list of tasks is long, but when you work them into a system, patients will remember the effort.
- Step 3: Being nice. Be nice to everyone. You want a nice office and when you add nice to a customer service system, you end up with wow. And wow is the pathway to a highly successful practice.
Achieving wow is a conscious effort. It is difficult, requiring focus, practice, and a system of doing certain things over and over for every patient every day no matter what. I have been teaching wow-level customer service for 40 years and have watched practices turn around or become more successful within a few months of implementing this approach and process. Do not underestimate the power of wow. It can help grow or revolutionize any practice.
Dr. Roger P. Levin is CEO of Levin Group, a leading practice management and marketing consulting firm. To contact him or to join the 40,000 dental professionals who receive his Practice Production Tip of the Day, visit LevinGroup.com or email rlevin@levingroup.com.
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