It was good for me to go through this experience, because I was reminded of why I do the work I do.
You know the drill: You call a doctor's office and an unhappy-sounding scheduling assistant treats you as if you are a huge interruption to her day. She's abrupt, unsympathetic and annoyed if you don't give her precisely the information she demanded. She tells you the doctor you want won't be available in this century and offers you alternatives, and then becomes agitated if you need a moment to think or are not satisfied with the first available appointment. After all, who do you think you are? SHE works for a DOCTOR and is VERY busy. You are just one more bother in her bothersome day.
Now you visit the doctor's office. The staff is annoyed that you didn't notice the big hand-written sign on the right side of the desk that says "Sign In Here," and that you thought it was okay to go to the busy person sitting on the left. When you get to the one on the right, she asks you questions efficiently and hands you a clipboard telling you to return it with your insurance card and a picture i.d., without ever looking up to see your face. She even makes you pay your co-pay up front, to make your leaving more efficient--without ever looking up.
Believe it or not, your staff may be treating people like this, and no matter how good you are at what you do or how kind and considerate you might be, your client or patient is thinking, "I'm not coming here again."
Maybe, like the doctor I'm describing (we'll call him Dr. "A"), there are so many people waiting to see you that you can afford not to know how the staff is behaving, but if you're like most professionals, a client or patient who has experienced something like what I've just described isn't staying with you, and will tell others to stay away, as well.
If you want to grow your practice or business, you need to be certain that you've spelled out for your staff how to handle phones and greet people, and you need to be sure that they're following your procedures. This means listening in on a prospective client or patient call and having someone report to you about how they are treated while they're waiting for you. Don't assume because you're being treated well by your assistant that he or she is treating your clients the same way.
It also means spelling out the basics for them with a formalized procedure that includes all of the following points:
1. Be pleasant. No matter how frenetic your office might be, every caller deserves to feel that he or she is not an interruption in someone's busy day.
2. Identify the office and yourself. Everyone who answers a phone should use his or her name.
3. Offer to help. The identification should be followed by "How may I help you?" or "How may I direct your call?" or--well--anything helpful.
4. Don't rush the caller. No matter how busy you are, clients need to get rid of their stress, not to confront yours.
5. Own the call. Until the caller is connected, the person answering the phone is responsible for the caller's happiness.
These are just some of the basic rules.
This week I needed to renew a prescription written by Dr. "B." Don't get me wrong, I thankfully don't have a lot of medical problems; this is just a story about doctors. Dr. "B" gives his patients an e-mail address, so I was able to e-mail my request for the renewal. I received a return e-mail today advising me that the new prescription had been sent to the pharmacy. It was a small thing--a simple return e-mail--but the extra twenty seconds it took his staff to send it meant the world to me.
Referrals come from clients who tell stories about the "magical" service they are receiving. If you want to learn how to make magic in your practice or business, contact me today. In the meantime, keep REACHING...
P.S. Dr. "A" was a really nice human being. He advised me that I fractured a bone in my foot, but I'm not sure I'm willing to face his staff for the follow-up appointment.
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