One of the major frustrations that all customers experience when dealing with a business is having to bear the time delays, mistakes and errors created by unskilled and untrained team members of that business.
These team members may be unskilled and untrained for a number of reasons:
They may be untrained because they have yet to be trained in their roles.
They may be untrained because they are assuming a role “temporarily” in the business, or at short notice, that they have never been trained to perform, and are doing so only as an emergency “fill-in” person while someone else is inadvertently absent from their role.
It does seem inexcusable that untrained employees and new employees do get thrust into roles they have yet to be trained for, without adequate training and onboarding protocols being taught to them.
In dentistry this happens all the time.
Because dental practices run on small numbers of staff, when a staff member leaves, or is absent because of sickness, the practice often has to “make do” with anybody who might be remotely suitable. Sadly, that replacement person may happen to be only someone who draws a breath and has a pulse…. but may be totally unskilled at the role they have been catapulted into.
Sometimes the wrong person does more harm than good…
Sometimes “just having anybody” is not better than having nobody.
Sure, the replacement person can be better than nobody because they relieve the extra work load, and are able to do something…. but, sometimes the replacement person is so unskilled for the task required of them that they create extra work for the other employees [who have to redo the work of the replacement person].
And sometimes the unskilled replacement person actually “drives away” customers because of that lack of “expected” experience.
A substitute player on a sporting team who is inexperienced, is a player who may let the team and the fans down because of that inexperience.
A theatrical understudy who does not know their lines can let the other cast members, and the production, as well as the paying audience down because they weren’t yet “up to the task” that they were hurriedly required to do.
In a dental practice…
Just because someone owns and answers their own mobile phone doesn’t mean that they are sufficiently skilled and competent to professionally answer a dental office phone.
Or does it?
After all, as the general public think, how difficult can it be?
The general public think that anybody should be able to answer a dental office phone… they think it can’t be too difficult?
Well let me tell you this..
In a dental practice, the difference between an “average” person and a “professional” person answering the office phone, could be anywhere between $300,000 and $600,000 per year, per dentist, to that dental practice.
And it could be more..
I listen to recordings of so called “experienced” employees on the dental practice phones and I’m horrified that sometimes the receptionist has found out the caller’s address, and phone number, and insurance details, before they have even asked the caller their name…
Yes really!!
In a sporting event…
In any sporting event, a player dropping the ball can put the whole team under enormous pressure.
In a dental office, unskilled team members answering the dental office phone can metaphorically be dropping balls all day long putting the whole dental practice under unnecessary financial pressures.
At your dental practice, are you listening to actual recordings of real conversations that occur on your dental practice phones?
Anyone can lecture all day long until they’re blue in the face about the “best way” to answer the phones…. but unless you create real time accountability for your key team members, they will only improve at a glacial pace, if at all.
Sports teams review their games each week by watching recordings of the previous week’s game.
If your business isn’t having your phone calls recorded and reviewed, and your team trained by a professional coach, you’re really just flushing hundred dollar bills down the drain on a daily basis.
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Need your phones monitored?
Are you concerned about the number of calls that are not being answered as best they can be?
You need Call Tracking Excellence.
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Call Jayne on 1300 378 044 or email Jayne@theDPE.com for more details.
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Have you read my book, How To Build The Dental Practice of Your Dreams [Without Killing Yourself!] In Less Than Sixty Days.
You can order your copy here: Click Link To Order
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The Ultimate Patient Experience is a simple to build complete Customer Service system in itself that I developed that allowed me to create an extraordinary dental office in an ordinary Sydney suburb. If you’d like to know more, ask me about my free special report.
Email me at david@theupe.com
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