“It’s our attitude in lifer that determines life’s attitude toward us.”
— Earl Nightingale
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Last week Dennis underwent a minor surgical procedure to remove a small skin cancer from his face. We had already met with the doctor, a friendly, caring professional, on a previous visit, to hear the sequence of the procedure, risks involved in the surgery, possible scarring, post-operative care, and other “scary” information. So, on the morning of his surgery, needless to say, Dennis was slightly apprehensive. He would also need to be at the office for most of the day while his slides were evaluated to be sure all of the cancer was removed. For those of you who don’t know Dennis, we call him a “hummingbird” since he rarely stopfs moving and when moving does so in fast pace. Hopefully you have the visual – Dennis, nervous and antsy arriving for his visit …
 As we walked in the door, Dennis greeted the Receptionist, saying, “Good Morning”. Her response to him, as she stood up at the desk was, “Do you have your co-pay?” He said yes, gave her his credit card and said, “So how are you today?” Her response was, “I’m OK”, then silence. WOW! I was amazed! She was not only, not friendly, she showed absolutely no empathy towards a patient who was having his “face cut” today. Did she not care? Was she having a bad day? Was she mad at the doctor? Does it even matter what her problem was? The fact is she represented her doctor and his practice badly. We don’t know if she had never been trained in Customer Service or if she just chose not to care, but I wonder if her boss, the doctor, would have approved --- hopefully, he would have been shocked.
On to the next step, one more review of Dennis’ medical history performed by an Assistant, with another following her and watching. She was pleasant enough during the medical review but there was zero small talk with Dennis and once again, no empathy or concern for his upcoming surgical procedure. We guessed the second lady was “in training” but nothing was mentioned as to why she was there. I just kept thinking that this isn’t much different than a patient coming to a dental office for a procedure they are nervous about. Are we so complacent that we’ve forgotten to care for the feelings of our customers, the ones who pay our paychecks?
After a short wait in the surgical suite, the doctor and two assistants arrived. The doctor was friendly, asking Dennis questions about his anxiety level and understanding of the procedure. He joked a little to break the ice and then began the surgical procedure. Shortly after he numbed Dennis’ face and made the first incision, there was a knock at the surgical suite door. Without waiting for an answer, a woman dressed in business clothes (not the first receptionist), entered the room. The doctor held up his hand and said, “Can this wait five minutes? I will be right with you.” She said, “No” and walked right up to his side saying, “I need the login information for the computer in the second office right now.” He paused, sighed, and then whispered the confidential login to her. She responded by saying, “I can’t hear you, you’ll have to speak up.” With a look of embarrassment on his face, the doctor told Dennis he would be right back, gave the assistant a piece of gauze to hold over the open incision and left the room. During the 10 minutes the doctor was gone there was not one word of conversation spoken to Dennis by either assistant in the room. He simply lay on the table with the assistant holding the gauze, periodically looking around the room. WOW! Once again, were they not trained? Did they hate their jobs? Or were they just indifferent? Does the doctor know they don’t even speak to patients when he’s not there?
To end the story, the doctor returned and resumed his surgical procedure, after Dennis jokingly commented, “It sure is a good thing you weren’t doing heart surgery!” Everything ended well and the surgery was a success, so does it matter? I believe it does. Dennis received excellent care, but not excellent service. With a small amount of training, simple systems in place that dictate how patients are to be treated, and leadership from the doctor in monitoring that his or her employees follow the systems, Dennis’ experience could have been elevated from satisfactory to exceptional. Satisfied patients don’t shout your praises – they have nothing exciting to say, but super-satisfied patients become your best source of new patient referrals. Isn’t it worth the effort?
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Draper, UT 84020 |
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The editor of this newsletter is Emily Webb of Becden Dental Laboratory, Inc. Please send any questions or comments about this newsletter, or suggestions for articles to: emilyw@becdendental.com
©2007 BECDEN Dental Laboratory, Inc. |
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