Providing Ultimate Customer Care by Graham Barnby (published 'Probe' February 2007) There is a trend towards the private sector in the provision of dental care as more dentists realise that they cannot always offer the best they can do under the NHS regulations. At the same time those practices that do make the move to the private sector soon realise that they need to show that the “new” offer is not just the old one at an increased fee in a better waiting room and surgery. To be providing the extra care that patients expect is not about the new gadgets the dentist has found at a recent exhibition nor that he or she can produce a crown that fits perfectly. Patients judge you on the things they can understand like the reception on the phone, the interest shown to them by the team and the cleanliness of the toilets. In fact if you as a dentist can stand back and think of your practice as the best restaurant you have visited and see how you shape up to the various “moments of truth” you experienced last time you ate there. Go through your experience. How was your booking taken? Did they make sure you knew where they were and where you could park? How did they welcome you when you arrived? Were you expected? Were they pleased to see you? Was your table ready for you? Did the meal come at the speed you wanted? Were you asked for feedback about the meal? Was the bill dealt with discreetly? Did they ask for recommendation to friends? Were they attentive as you left? Now go to your practice and see how you and your team deal with your customers, clients or patients. How do you measure up in your “moments of truth”? We think that you should try to achieve the following: The team having fun at work The focus being on the patient at all times Making the patients day with your service The team coming to work with a “can do” attitude You probably know about telephone training, receptionist training and providing a nice waiting area – although we prefer to call it a reception area, as patients should rarely have to wait. Some touches we can share with you that would constitute a high level of care and indicate that you have really thought about your customer are the following: Buy a bread maker and make some bread each day. Very easy to do and it only costs around £30. This creates a non-dentist smell and also provides you with bread to give away to the team or patients. If it doesn’t turn out well you can always feed the birds! Why not offer hot towels at the beginning or end of appointments. These are easy to supply and heat up in a microwave. If you don’t know where to get them, just ask you local Chinese or Indian restaurant manager. We now carry out more and more treatments that take a long time, often with rubber dam in place. Procedures such as Britesmile require the patient to sit for an hour or so with the mouth held open with retractors. Similarly orthodontic placement of brackets and root canal treatment under rubber dam can also leave the patient feeling very dry. So why not use a moisturing gel to reduce this. Your patients will really feel that you care and realise that you understand how they are feeling. The gel we find works well is the Bio Extra gel (available from Molar Ltd) that can be prescribed by the general medical practitioner for patients who suffer from dry mouth. It is however excellent to use on the lips and mucosa of any patient undergoing a long procedure. It is not sticky and lasts for the length of the appointment. A second application at the end of treatment leaves the patient lips and mouth feeling pleasant. Of course there is no reason why you can’t give it to all patients – another way of saying to them “We give Ultimate Dental Care”. << top >>