Back to Basics – A Feel-good Read on Connectedness – What Did We do Before Technology?

Technology is Brainy
What can be more amazing than technology? You purchase it to better serve your patients and reach optimum outcomes for your practice. However, technology can be brainy stuff and utilizing it to its fullest takes time and training, both of which require commitment. This can be difficult to achieve given the ongoing stresses of employee turnover and retraining, just one of the many things we have been forced to deal with during this long, drawn out season of COVID.

You can have all the techy bells and whistles on board, but nothing can ever take the place of the most meaningful thing in your practice, so meaningful that if even the smallest thing is overlooked, your patients will be left wanting something different. Wanting something different is a feeling. People always know exactly what’s missing and they will look elsewhere to find it. That’s why I’m leaving technology in the dust to focus on connectedness.

Connectedness is Emotional
I read a post on a dental Facebook page where the dental team member proceeded to rant about this patient who had the nerve to call the office ten minutes before her appointment to say she had too much anxiety to come in. When she asked to reschedule, he said, “Well, how do you know when you’re not going to have anxiety?” Shocking right? How would you have handled that patient?

So, let’s turn our attention to honoring what was said by Carl W. Buechner. It is a connectedness mentality that guides people to feeling good about a decision they made or are about to make. I believe it is through connectedness that we “train” our patients to do what we want them to do. Now the topic of communication is never ending but hey, this could be “perfect timing” for discussion at your next team meeting or with someone on the team you’d like to coach. Here are a few non-techy, thought starters.

• Most people base their decisions on feelings, not facts.
  • When we feel good about the people around us we feel more at ease so it’s easier to quickly develop a sense of trust. When this is achieved, we can not only hear better, we can also better understand what is being said. We are ultimately happier about the investment we just agreed to because we feel it’s worth it.
  • You know the old example. Your patient doesn’t say, “Can I please see that crown before you put it in my mouth?” They will feel good about the crown as soon as you tell them how great it looks.
• Smile or empathize during the call. Many moons ago, someone came up with the idea to place a mirror on your desk to remind us to smile when on the phone.
  • If you want to help a caller feel glad they called your office, SMILE. Such a simple thing to do. Can they see you smiling? No. Can they hear you smiling? Yes. Sometimes we may not feel like smiling in our line of work, our job is to serve others and smiling helps them embrace what you want them to do.
  • Sound empathetic. If the patient expresses concerns, using an empathetic tone will help them feel like following your lead.
• “Hey! Where’d you go?”
  • Ever been called to the back for an appointment when by the time you reached the door they called you from, there was no one to be found? It’s happened to me. I had to ask the receptionist where to go. She had to go find out.
• “Where is everybody?
  • Someone must attend to the reception area every working minute. Hence the word “reception”.
  • Make sure if your greeter has to step away, she finds someone to cover for her.
• “I think they forgot about me.”
  • People tend to be forgiving when being kept in the loop. Whether your patient is in the reception room or has been seated in a treatment room:
    • Keep tabs on the time.
    • Stop in every 10 minutes to apologize and explain to the patient how long you expect the wait to be.
    • Offer them the option to continue waiting or reschedule
    • Offer them something to drink or read
• “I’ve a patient there for 20 years!”
  • Be careful. If you don’t recognize the caller’s name
  • Never say, “Have you been here before?”
  • Instead say, “When was your last visit to the office?”
• Post Operative Calls
  • If you want your patient to feel they are special, call them the night of or the morning after a procedure.
  • If you are calling on behalf of the dentist, you can say, “Dr. Smith asked me to give you a call to find out how you’re doing after your visit today. Great! I’ll be sure to let her know you’re doing fine.”
  • If the patient expresses any concerns, let them know you will inform the doctor then do everything you can to advise and accommodate them as soon as possible.
• Certain words can and will affect a person’s feelings including their perception of your office. Here are a few more “Do say/Don’t say” that I live by. Finding out what your team members are saying can determine how your patients are feeling.

Do Say                                                                                                               Don’t Say

I hope this article is a welcome reminder to discover how you will make your patients feel good.

During the 2021 holiday season, DIY Digital Dental Consulting, https://completecustomizableconsulting.com/ shared a series of messages which really brings the point home…

“Give the gift that money can’t buy” Joy and Love, Acceptance, Support, Honesty, Quality Time, Kindness, Patience.