What do you have in your private practice that Wal-mart or Lenscrafters doesn’t? You hear this question from patients daily. “I’ll probably order from 1-800 contacts,” or “But Lenscrafters has a lab on site and can get my glasses done in an hour.” What those big name corporations don’t have that you do, is YOU. You and your personal relationships with your patients. These larger corporations look at your patients as a customer. You look at your patients as family. There is no shortage of online retailers and big chain retailers pushing low cost over quality. Patients forget that their vision is at stake when it comes to buying cheap quality eyewear. Providing your patients with a trustworthy, well-trained staff who can answer all their questions and assure them that they are purchasing the best fit for their lifestyle will help you to gain your patients’ trust and capture more sales.
It starts with a human connection. Remind your staff that your patients are people, with their own lives and needs. Remember, it is appropriate to mention a mutual sports team, or to inquire about a patient’s line of work. It is inappropriate to bring up religion or politics with a patient. Staff should make an effort to connect with each patient served in a unique way.
Remind your staff to practice active listening. Rephrasing and clarifying what patients say ensures them that they are being heard. Staff should practice empathy with patients’ problems. It is important to assure patients by using phrases like “I can see where you’re coming from.” It is important to remind your staff that they are human. Admitting mistakes even if you notice them before the patient does, makes you more trustworthy. The staff should not be shamed for being honest about mistakes. This actually allows them to maintain control of the situation and restores the patients’ confidence in your practice.
Remind staff to reach out and follow up after problems are resolved. If Mr. Smith had to wait 4 weeks for single vision sunglasses that were estimated to take 7 days at the time of purchase, send out an email or text message to check in. There are patient communication services designed to help you streamline the process.Patients are coming to you because they do not want to deal with bots. Address them in a personal manner. Having a real life customer service representative available to answer questions and communicate with patients is a major selling point. Listen to patient feedback. If a patient tells you they would like a way to order contacts via text or email, look into utilizing communication features in your current EMR or investing in a patient communication service to make these features available to your patients. Furthermore, if patients are complaining about the atmosphere, it would do well to reflect on your practice environment.
Provide incentives to keep your staff patient and customer service oriented. Hold a contest for patient compliments, or implement a reward system for capturing sales. Providing excellent customer service begins with you as a leader. Start with keeping your employees involved with the process. The patients can sense when there is hostility in the air, or when the employees don’t feel present. Keeping your employees happy is the key to keeping your patients happy.
Today is #FocusFriday! So let's have laser beam focus on customer service this week and developing a patient centric environment. Let today be the start of something new! Always remember if you need help just send us a S.O.S, our team is here to support you and your staff. #SOSTeam #PracticeManagement #CustomerService #FocusMode
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