Customer service is one of the most discussed areas of business. Yet, few businesses can accomplish customer service that truly is extraordinary. In dentistry, many practices have difficulty providing superior customer service because their own systems are working against them. Without realizing it, dentists have developed systems based on functionality rather than value creation.
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FUNCTIONALITY
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The simplest definition of "functionality" is "getting the job done." Examples in the dental practice include
- – the front desk coordinator scheduling patients;
- – the dental assistants setting up trays and sterilizing instruments;
- – hygienists completing scaling and root planing and moving on to the next patient;
- – dentists completing treatment.
Many practices do not have well-defined, step-by-step best-model systems. More often than not, practices operate on the basis of habits learned through the years from either former partners or practice management courses. Sometimes the members of a practice simply have figured out on their own a way in which to accomplish all of the tasks necessary each day. These approaches usually are based on functionality. Of course, dentists want the patient’s experience to be as pleasant as possible and encourage staff members to be nice to patients in the process, but the primary goal remains getting the job done.
Today, more and more Americans are expecting a great experience, not simply the completion of a job. Many patients receive excellent dental care but still are not satisfied with the overall in-office experience. It is not that team members or dentists are unpleasant or rude, but rather that the experience failed to meet patients’ expectations relative to the fees that were paid. Dentists should keep in mind that almost every dental procedure comes with some level of out-of-pocket expenditure for the patient.
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VALUE CREATION
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While all dentists are held to criteria of meeting or exceeding the standard of care, they are not held to the same criteria of meeting or exceeding customer service expectations. For many practitioners, this is a difficult hurdle.
Moving beyond mere functionality to value creation is what creates a better patient experience. As an example, a practice should map out all of the steps needed for the entry of a new patient. The key is to look at each step and identify the best way to handle it. For example, what happens during a first telephone call to schedule the new patient appointment? Is it a functional call in which the front desk coordinator completes the patient’s scheduling and collects any other appropriate information? Does the call also include information about the dentist, the staff members and the practice? Does the call create a sense of trust and a feeling that the new patient called the right practice? Or does the patient end the call without knowing any more about the practice than he or she did before?
Value creation occurs by looking at each step in a process and evaluating the best way to handle it. In many cases, it is achieved through scripting and careful attention to communicating the right type of information (such as the hygienist’s discussing the full array of available services during a recall appointment). In other cases, it is achieved through less obvious means, such as the dentist’s calling the patient in the evening after treatment to ask how he or she is feeling or providing a patient with a tour of the office to introduce him or her to new technologies and equipment. All of these things are a part of value creation.
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CONCLUSION
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All dentists strive to deliver excellent clinical care. This goal is deeply ingrained in dentists’ minds from the minute they enter dental school. However, dental practices need to complement excellent treatment with a superior customer experience. In today’s competitive world, patients want dental practices to meet or exceed their expectations with every single appointment.
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FUNCTIONALITY
VALUE CREATION
