FIVE TIPS TO HELP YOUR DENTAL RECEPTIONIST WHEN CALLING YOUR PATIENTS

In my book “Don’t wait for the Tooth Fairy” I mention the importance of having an answering service. Darren McCowan, Marketing Manager of Telephone Answering Service Answer-4u, shares his industry experience and explains how best to approach telephone calls to your patients.

5 Tips To Help Your Dental Receptionist When Calling Your Patients
As with every business that we work with, our dental industry clients are no different in that they understand that a warm and welcoming greeting by phone can be the difference between a satisfied patient and a bad first impression. Here are 5 great tips to help your dental receptionist enhance their telephone manner and provide patients a customer service experience that they will hope to receive.

1. Sit up straight and smile before each call
Now I know what you’re thinking “That’s ridiculous, the patient can’t see me sitting up or smiling over the phone!” but hear me out… Having the correct body posture and a beaming grin before making a call will put you in the right mind-set and physically affect your tone of voice. Check yourself out in a small mirror during the call; patients will detect if you’re slumped back in your chair or disinterested!

2. Let patients speak without interruption or placing them on hold
Again, a patient will be able to read whether or not you are distracted with other concerns. You should be giving total attention to the task in hand, however important your other disruptions may be.

3. Be well versed in practice FAQ’s and always have a script handy
When you call a patient you need to quickly and easily be able to answer the following questions:

  • When are you available to see me?
  • What is your address and is there parking space available?
  • What can I do personally to improve my dental hygiene?
  • Is there anything that I should tell my family doctor?
  • What options do you offer to improve my dental hygiene?
  • How effective are tooth whitening pastes?
  • What options are available in terms of changing the shape of my teeth?
  • What are dental sealants and how long do they last?
  • How safe are amalgam-type fillings and can you have an allergic reaction to them?

If you can’t quite remember the answer to these types of questions (or others you are asked on a regular basis) then make sure to have a script at the ready. There’s little more frustrating as a patient to be greeted by a receptionist who can’t answer vital queries.

4. Probe for more information
Dental receptionists should be astute listeners and wary of the small details that patients reveal which will allow the practice dentist to better solve their problem. To best understand their needs you should probe thoroughly rather than taking their first answer as final.

An open first question such as “What seems to be your problem?” is a start but you should continue to dig around. Most cases of dental patient dissatisfaction will stem from a poor level of enquiry in the first interaction.

5. Enhance trust
Following on from the previous point here’s a great tip for those dental physicians that are also customer facing over the phone…

An extensive and detailed conversation with a patient can not only lead to new discoveries but it can also build their trust.

Patients these days will rarely accept strict advice from their physician from the outset before they realise that you know your stuff. Ask questions, make a connection and find out more about them.

Patients may not always know what’s best for them and think they know their teeth better than you. Be adaptable and show that you care and you will both have a better overall customer-patient experience.

Darren McCowan, Marketing Manager of Telephone Answering Service Answer-4u

Telephone Answering Service Answer-4u are one of the UK’s leading telephone answering services for both SME and Corporate sized organisations covering a diverse range of business sectors including over 250 dental clients for over 10 years.

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