Lisa Bainham, President of ADAM, considers what the dental industry (and in fact any industry) needs to consider when dealing with customer service
So, we are all aware that bad customer service is quite trendy these days and we can find ourselves laughing at our friends on social media using examples of bad experiences as entertainment.
What is even funnier (when you aren’t on the receiving end), is the people in dentistry who coach practices about customer service, giving short, sharp shrift to the likes of big companies and for those coaches that roam, hotel chains that don’t deliver a respectable level of customer service during their stays.
But what isn’t so funny, in our practices, is the growing culture of nothing less than the highest level of customer care or patient journeys, and experience is acceptable. Huge investments are being made by practices to deliver a service with not just a smile but with a difference. Practices are using feedback from patients using a huge range of platforms to gain the information needed to improve their services, perfecting and honing their skills to as close to perfection as they can.
So, now we all work extremely hard to hone our customer service skills, what do we expect of other people in the dental industry that we come across?
Yep…equal perfection or at least of a reasonable standard!
Over the last 20 years I have worked with some amazing companies and “reps” who have become friends. Looking at a number of these I have realised that they seem to be the ones who also provide a quality service. It’s not even about what they are selling or what they provide for us, or even the prices they charge, it’s about basic manners, excellent communication and the secret ingredient, a huge dollop of x-factor. Exceeding our expectations!
I had a recent experience that gave me the idea to write this little rant down…
For a few weeks I had been rang by a laboratory asking to arrange a chat with me as they had noticed a couple of our dentists had stopped using them and it was a not insignificant amount. My immediate thought was Wow, that’s great that they have noticed, care, and want to see how they can make amends; I welcome the opportunity to provide the feedback they needed. We agreed that they would email me to arrange a convenient time to talk. The email never arrived so nothing then happened. I certainly wasn’t chasing them.
Then this week, another problem arose with them – an accounting issue, that meant me ringing the company (which I might add has won numerous awards). The phone was answered, not unprofessionally, but certainly not in a friendly, efficient manner. I explained my query, and as in quite a few cases, was told after relating the whole backlog of the query. “Errrmmm, I’m not sure what to do, I’m new.” So, I said, “Okay, can you get someone that can help please”? “Errrrm yeah I think so, I will ask someone to call you.”
Late afternoon came, and still no phone call, so I rang again, had the same conversation all over again with the same person and she remembered nothing. I politely asked if I could speak to a customer service manager or similar. I was informed by the customer service manager that the receptionist was new and had only been there a few days. And the moral of the story is? Why, Why, Why, would you allow someone inexperienced and clearly not trained correctly for the front of house to be the first impression of the company?! Not only picking up the phone to existing customers but also potential new customers?!
Forming great relationships is far more important than chasing the price of a cotton wool roll (as some constantly remind us and as if we don’t realise!) Our time is precious, and we are all under increasing strain from a hundred and one things to do such as compliance, HR, financials and many other tasks – plumping up our daily “to-do” list to the point of popping (or at least popping a cork)!
So, Dental Reps, Service Providers, Accounts Departments, Software Providers and anyone else coming into contact with dental practices, please remember the rules below. We are not expecting the earth, we are not unreasonable, we know things go wrong that can’t always be helped. But do remember we are expecting something special from you, as we are trained and expected to deliver for our patients.
From me to you with love!
Top 10 Tips
- Always return our calls or emails
- If there has been a problem, keep following it up until it’s sorted
- Don’t lie to us or try to pull the wool over our eyes – we always find out the truth!
- Respect our time and the amount of work we are juggling. Saying, “Sorry I’ve not got back to you”, will not cut it with us much, or in fact at all!
- Listen and validate any concerns we have
- Ask us for feedback
- Get to know us and anticipate our needs
- Be the “yes” person
- Exceed expectations
- Make us feel appreciated
If you can crack most of these you will tame the customer service excellence monsters that we have become and have us eating those over priced cotton wool rolls out of your hands!