In my little corner of Texas, there’s a Starbucks on every corner, but almost daily I trek to the farthest reaches of Mansfield to get my caffeine fix at a certain location. The reason I do this is because there is an employee who is just phenomenal (and he thinks I am too.) He’s always happy to see me and even gets a raised-eyebrow-happy surprised look when I walk in…like he has not seen me in ages and I just made his day by walking through the door. Funny thing is, I was just there the day before. OH MY! When he hands me my coffee, it’s like he is handing me an award or trophy.  He makes it a BIG DEAL! How do you think I feel when I leave? Yep, like the most special, amazing coffee drinker he has ever served! Since I am a frequent visitor, I began to observe more and more that his exuberance was not reserved just for me. Everyone was a recipient of that warm-fuzzy-feel-good feeling that came with their grande skinny vanilla latte. He freely gave his good vibe to us all. This led me to think about our practices and our patients and our vibe.  What is “vibe?” The word vibe is defined as a person’s emotional state or the atmosphere of a place as communicated and felt by others.   I visit many practices every day and some are getting it right-genuine smiles, laughter, and that is magic. Others? Well, I have fought the urge to turn and run. Ok, maybe I am exaggerating a bit, but the palpable vibe of stress, frustration, and negativity is a deadly trifecta that can be felt by our patients. You cannot hide the vibe. The vibe we portray in our practices has a collective effect. If your vibe could stand to improve, answer these questions. What are your frustrations? Stresses? What conjures up the negative? Do you need system/protocols in place to combat chaos? Do you need to automate many of your tasks to allow more time for patient care? Are more consistent (and productive!) team meetings needed to “clear the air?” Take action! Burn that proverbial sage to get those good positive vibes flowing. Let’s go back to my favorite Starbucks. Remember, there is one on every corner around me. I choose to drive the extra miles because of his vibe. There is value to me. I want that great feeling when he sees me and hands me my coffee. I VALUE the way he makes me feel. It’s not the coffee. It’s the vibe. The value is in the vibe. We have an obligation to our patients and our practices to give our best vibe. People remember it. Patients come back for more of it (or never come back due to it.) Patients refer other patients to experience it. You may jump out of bed in the morning excited about your day and those you serve due to it. The vibe just got more valuable didn’t it? My challenge to everyone is take some time to be more observant in the places you visit and the people you meet.  What was the vibe? Now ask yourselves, what do our patients observe? Keep on with the positives, and take action against the daily struggles hindering the positive vibe. Be more aware of the value in how our interactions can positively impact our practices from the doctors to the teams to the patients. It feels good to feel good. That is not hard to understand. It feels even better to make others feel good. Now go out there and give off those positive feel good vibes!  

Deana Zost is a Regional Territory Manager for RevenueWell. She has been in dentistry for over 25 years, most of which as an office manager. Since joining RevenueWell in 2015, she has had the opportunity to coach practices in the art of creating THE patient experience. Deana is a Fellow in AADOM (American Association of Dental Office Management,) a 2015 Patterson scholarship winner to the AADOM national conference, and a 2015 Office Manager of the Year nominee. She is a founding member of the local AADOM chapter DFW’s BEST Practices & serves the chapter as the Social Media Guru. Deana is a member of the Speaking Consulting Network and has been a featured guest on The Thriving Dentist Show with Gary Takacs, and has appeared on Dentistry Uncensored with Dr. Howard Farran.