We Laugh At This, But We Do The Same Thing….

I was at my local golf club yesterday, and one of the golfers was talking about some of his recent experiences dining out.

He told us about the time he and his wife were out for breakfast at some fancy new breakfast eatery and the waitress told them that the eatery had no smashed avocado on this morning…. despite the fact that the eatery was located directly across the road from a fruit shop.

This same golfer also told the tale about a visit he made to an Asian restaurant that had run out of rice.

Another golfer then joined in with his own dining story about having to send a Steak Dianne back to a kitchen because it tasted odd, only to have the same steak brought back with the explanation that it was indeed a Steak Dianne, only without the garlic.

These sound like tall tales, and well may you laugh, but experiences similar to these can happen to anyone… even to me.

Last week I experienced my own real life version of The Pub With No Beer.

I ventured into the village where I live with my neighbour only to find that my local hotel, which doesn’t sell Guinness on tap, was also out of bottles of Peroni, and had no Carlton Draught available on tap either… on the Monday of a long-weekend. [For my American friends, a long-weekend is a three day weekend that includes a national or state holiday]

Imagine that, on a hot summer’s day, we are at the local pub, thirsty, and we are down to option four.

Another friend of mine has a small vineyard and has just produced his first harvest of Pinot Noir grapes, with raving reviews. In fact, the interest in his wine is so high that he feels as though he may not be able to meet the local demand.

It’s amusing that we laugh at these culinary and refreshment failures, because in reality, in our dental businesses, we are guilty of similar misdemeanours.

The number one failure in your dental practice.

The number one failure in your dental practice is not that you run out of avocado, or rice, or garlic, or beer…. It’s the fact that you run out of available staff to look after your valued customers and patients.

And you do that multiple times each day.

Day in and day out.

You know it….

The phone rings, but you let it go through to your service, because you’re receptionist is on another call, or she’s with a patient arriving, or she’s with a patient departing your office.

Or she’s acting as a concierge with a nervous patient, and then she’s needed to schedule an appointment and take a payment for a departing patient.

Or she’s entertaining a visiting dental supply company rep, and someone needs a chart, urgently.

And down the back it’s the same….

The dental assistants are needed to be tearing down and setting up a number of treatment rooms all at the same time, while still being available to escort a new patient in for their treatment, or help the hygienist with a charting, or escort a departing patient out following treatment, or organising laboratory cases going in or coming out…..

You see, while we’re in the act of working at dentistry, we sometimes fail to see the inefficiencies and the acts of unnecessary negligence that our valued clients and customers and patients are being subjected to.

In a manner not too dissimilar to an Asian restaurant running out of rice

Running out of staff, or running short on staff, or not staffing your business adequately, sends the same message to your customers as the Asian restaurant that runs out of rice sends to its customers.

At best, it’s considered to be a careless oversight.

At worst, it’s considered stupid. And unacceptable.

The Tale of Kerry Packer

The story goes like this…. Australia’s richest man turns up for lunch at one of Sydney’s new eateries, and asks for a steak.

When he’s told that the restaurant does not serve steak, Packer is incredulous….he says words to the effect:

“I own more beef cattle than anybody else in Australia, and I can’t even get a *blinking* steak in my own town?”

The owner of the restaurant thought quickly, and placated the angry diner, organising a steak be brought in from a nearby pub.

And all’s well that ends well….

In your dental practice…

In your dental practice, are you understaffing and hoping that your team will get by?

And hoping that your customers and patients don’t actually notice this?

Guess what?

Your team will get by for a while, and then they will get tired of the conditions, and the excuses, and they’ll leave.

And your patients?

They will tolerate it for a while, and then they will get tired of the waiting, and the delays, and the excuses, and they’ll leave too.

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