AADOM LIVEcast: The 5-Star Customer Service Practice
Approved for 1 CE towards AADOM Designations when viewed in AADOM’s Learning Management System.
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Video Description:
Customer service is one of the most powerful ways for any practice to differentiate itself and attract patients. Very few practices reach the “5-Star Customer Service” level, but when they do all aspects of practice performance improve. Customer Service is not simply about being nice to patients. It is a practice system that needs to be documented and integrated into the practice by a fully trained team and overseen by the Office Manager. The best practices offer outstanding customer service, which leads to their continued success year after year.
Exceptional customer service starts with building a customer service-oriented culture where specific actions take place every day. The truth is that many practices believe they have “5-Star Customer Service” but are really at the 3 or 4-star level. Patients can tell the difference, and they appreciate and are drawn toward practices that deliver the highest levels of customer service experience.
This presentation will include not only the philosophy behind building a customer service culture in your practice, but many practical strategies that can be used by Office Managers daily. Within 90 days of implementing the strategies taught in this seminar, the practice will begin to transform into an extraordinarily positive and energized environment that attracts more patients and generates plentiful positive reviews. A simple, no-cost technique to attract hundreds of positive reviews will also be explained along with numerous other pearls that can bring any practice up to the 5-Star Customer Service level.
Course Learning Objectives:
- Learn to build a customer service culture that will transform and differentiate the practice.
- Understand and implement specific customer service strategies to use with every patient every day to create a 5-Star Customer Service environment.
- Rapidly add hundreds of positive (5-Star) reviews for the practice by building and leveraging a foundation of outstanding customer service based on the principles of outstanding customer service.
Click HERE to download slide presentation
Sponsored by: Proctor and Gamble/Crest + Oral-B
Got “Wow”?
Successful dental practices share one commonality: the exemplary customer service they provide. Despite the many changes that have and will take place in dentistry, the nature of a customer is not likely to change.
Patients will select offices where they are treated well.
There is an old saying that “everyone wants to feel special.” Businesses that have been able to translate this into reality for their customers tend to be the most successful.
For example, despite the prominence of large, warehouse-like stores that have opened throughout America with extremely discounted prices, many luxury brands and boutique stores are doing brisk business. People often feel more comfortable spending their money when they have a personal relationship with the owner or team members of a business.
Dental Office Managers can certainly learn a lesson from this example.
“WOW” Every Patient.
Levin Group has a simple philosophy – “WOW” every patient! The goal is for every patient to leave the office and literally say “WOW” at the time of their departure. Patients should be so impressed and amazed by the level of service they receive, courtesy of the dental team, excellence of the doctor, beauty of the décor, attentiveness to their unique needs, etc. The customer service system needs to be designed so that patients cannot help but be impressed.
Maintaining high levels of customer service over the long term is extremely difficult. Even a bastion of customer service such as Nordstrom, a major department store that built its reputation by the level of service provided to customers, has found maintaining a high level of excellence extremely challenging.
So, the question becomes: How can an Office Manager with limited resources sustain customer service at high levels over time?
The main way to sustain customer service is to develop and implement a step-by-step documented customer service system for your practice.
Systems should not be created only to get an excellent clinical result for patients. A great crown or bridge case does not necessarily WOW patients. In fact, most patients are not qualified or able to judge the quality of the clinical dentistry they receive. Always keep in mind that dentistry is expensive, and most people would rather use their discretionary income on vacations or new cars rather than on dental treatment.
Getting WOW!
WOW is an essential component of practice management. Getting WOW is not as simple as merely being nice to patients.
Getting WOW is about step-by-step systems where each step integrates into a comprehensive positive customer service experience.
In other words, every step of the system should be analyzed not only through the technical factor of either providing dentistry or collecting a bill, but also for the level of impact on the customer service experience. As an example, scheduling is a technical activity. The goal is to get the patient scheduled with the right amount of time. Many scheduling coordinators view that as their complete job.
At Levin Group, we would argue that the job of the scheduling coordinator is not complete unless the patient is highly satisfied. In order to accomplish this, we not only have to have the patient scheduled in for the right amount of time, but also at a time that the patient perceives to be convenient with the proper communication, value and interpersonal relationship.
For example, in an excellent customer service practice the scheduling coordinator would:
- Use the word “convenience” a minimum of three times while scheduling
- Use the patient’s name at least three times
- Give the patient a minimum of two choices, so that the patient’s mind can work on which of these is a better choice versus which is the ideal choice that may not be available
- Ask the patient if the proposed appointment is a convenient time for them
- Tell the patient to call in advance if they have any questions regarding the appointment
- Thank the patient for coming
- Tell the patient that you look forward to their next visit
What is represented above is not a step-by-step system, but merely some concepts of how we turn the technical aspect of scheduling into a positive WOW level experience, while maintaining control of the schedule. This is how you get WOW!
Why Systems?
Systems ensure outstanding service because they create a high level of consistency for the team.
Documented systems also help significantly reduce the training costs for new team members. If a front desk person or an assistant understands that there are exact steps to be followed with scripts for each practice activity, you have a much higher chance that this individual will incorporate all of the steps, resulting in excellent customer service.
By following the steps, every patient receives exactly the same treatment with exactly the same consistent attention to quality. Whether it is a smile, comment, question, handshake, or recommendation, it will always be the same.
While patients are not always the same, you will be successful in over 95% of the cases in achieving the WOW factor. This is part of the quest of practice management. Not simply getting the job done, but getting it done with the patients saying WOW as they leave the office.
Unhappy Patients
Even with fantastic step-by-step systems and an outstanding staff, you will still have certain patients who are not satisfied. Whether it is their personality type, anxiety, or the fact that they are just unhappy individuals is irrelevant. We have to deal with them.
There are many ways to deal with unhappy patients and all fall into the realm of effective communication and conflict resolution.
The best approach is to proactively manage the interaction with challenging patients to gain compliance with practice policies while securing as positive an experience for the patients as possible. This process can signify many different action plans, yet all require planning, flexibility, and excellent verbal skills on the team’s part.
For example, if the patient demands an appointment that is not available, find the next best appointment. If the patient is unhappy with the fee, reinforce the value for the procedure, and reiterate the different payment options that are available. These conversations aim at satisfying the patient and delivering excellent customer service.
Conclusion
Getting WOW is not as easy as most people think. It is not about simply being nice, but rather about ironclad systems that allow the team to be effectively trained to provide outstanding technical and customer-related service. An exceptional customer experience is what a service business is all about.
Learn about the presenter:
Dr. Roger P. Levin is the CEO of Levin Group, a leading dental management consulting firm. Founded in 1985, Levin Group has worked with over 30,000 clients. Dr. Levin is one of the most sought-after educators in dentistry and is a leading authority on dental practice success and sustainable growth.
Through extensive research and cutting-edge innovation, Dr. Levin is a recognized expert on propelling practices into the top 10%. He has authored over 65 books and over 4,000 articles on dental practice management and marketing. Dr. Levin has served on the editorial board of prominent dental publications and has been named one of the “Leaders in Dentistry” by Dentistry Today magazine for the last 16 years. He was recently named one of the “32 Most Influential People in Dentistry” by Incisal Edge magazine and voted Best Dental Consultant by the readers of Drbicuspid.com. He has been interviewed for the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Time magazine and is the creator of the Levin Group Tip of the Day which reaches over 30,000 dental professionals. To contact Dr. Levin, visit www.levingroup.com or email rlevin@levingroup.com.
