Millennium Dental Customer Service Workshop

1. Millennium DentalCustomer Service Workshop By: Jose Gonzalez, Joe Steinmetz, & Natalie Madsen

2. Day 1 Monday April 25, 2011

3. How to Create a Positive Word of Mouth • Positive word of mouth is the most effective advertising that you can have. • People listen to others about their experiences in general. • Damage will be done to our business if just one person starts saying bad things about us.

4. 5 Tips on Creating Positive Word of Mouth • Create a great customer experience: Always be friendly, knowledgeable, and listen to the patients. Leave a great last impression and give them the extra inch of service to make them feel special. • Send a follow up thank you: Millennium Dental believes that we are not done with a customer because its services are rendered. Remember, one customer can lead us to many more. • Network and volunteer yourself: Think of ways that you can help other people. The positive word of mouth will flow. Use online networking as well to create a positive web presence.

5. Tips Cont. • Referrals: Ask our patients before they leave our office for referrals. Offer them a special for any referrals that they bring to us. • Always keep in touch with your customers: A simple e-mail can do the trick or you can create a newsletter. Keep our services on the tip of your tongue. And remember, give your customers more than what they are paying for.

6. Question • What are the 5 Tips on Creating Positive Word of Mouth?

7. Keeping Our Customers for Life • If we were to lose a weekly client, it would mean thousands of dollars in lost revenue. • Survey your clients. Do you know how they feel about you and the business? Do you believe they will recommend the office to others? • Doing so will experience one of three outcomes: the client will respond with critical information, for those helping us to improve our services; clients appreciate that you want to improve our office to better serve their needs; client got busy doing more important things and will be reminded to make another appointment.

8. Keeping Customers Cont. • All of these outcomes will be positive and helpful in the business. • Stop chattering. Not all customers appreciate you making conversation with them. Some just like to feel relaxed and quiet. • Maintain a comfortable environment. Control sound volume and maintain a decent room temperature. • Personalize the treatment. Go above and beyond the ordinary.

9. Keeping Customers Cont. • Provide consistent on time service. Customers will be dissatisfied if they have to wait a long time. • Greet them with a warm smile. • Answering phone calls in a timely manner is critical as well as important. Also, return calls quickly. • There is no real secret for keeping customers for life. • All you need to do is find out what their needs are, maintain follow-up for better relationship, and provide excellent service that exceeds their expectations and outshines your competition.

10. Question • Is there a real secret for keeping customers?

11. 9 Action Tips that Convey Personality • Having a positive attitude: Keep a positive attitude while conducting business. This is a great way to begin a relationship with your customers. • If possible, greet with their name: Use their names and continue to use it during the conversation. Don’t overdo it. By using their names, it will put them at ease and it will help them feel like you care about them. • Keep good notes: Be able to ask personal questions as “icebreakers”. Then switch to professional mode. But keep your attitude while getting down to business, and keep a good record of what was discussed. • Keep all your attention to your customer: Especially the ones that you will be meeting for the first time, focus on your customers and their needs. Enable the customer to talk about themselves. Training yourself to be an excellent listener will make the difference.

12. Personality Tips Cont. • Ask how you can help: Once you know what their needs are, ask them how you can help them resolve their issues. Be specific about the services that our facilities provide. • Smile and keep smiling: This process will help keep things friendly and upbeat through the course of the conversation. • Shake hands properly: Regardless of your gender, a firm hand shake is important in the confidence in yourself, and it shows ability to transact business effectively. Make sure that you give a firm hand shake, grip the other individual’s hand, and let go. • Maintain a steady eye contact: This is very important in creating an excellent first impression. Throughout the conversation, always make sure that you keep eye contact without seeming overbearing. • Always have your agenda ready: If possible, keep your records handy when your customers arrive, and if possible, welcome them by name. This will tell the customer that you are ready to take care of their needs.

13. Question • Name four of the nine tips that convey personality.

14. Poor Listening • Avoid filtering: This happens when a person’s mind is shifting through another’s words. Commonly a filterer replies with a statement, “yeah, but”. • Avoid second guessing: Someone who’s second guessing usually misses important information because they are too busy to listen to the customer. • Avoid discounting: This occurs when a listener lacks respect for a speaker. The speaker could be 100% dead on, but a discounter will scoff at what’s being said. The sad thing about a discounter is that they will often miss a solution to the problems. • Avoid relating: Avoid finding references from your own background and compare them to what the speaker is saying. A relater often compares everything to their own experiences.

15. Poor Listening Cont. • Avoid rehearsing: This blocks much of your listening since you will simply be waiting for the other person to finish its conversation. A rehearse will usually be thinking what it’s going to say on its next sentence. AVOID, AVOID, AVOID. • Avoid forecasting: Do not get ahead of yourself. This happens because one’s mind automatically thinks ahead of us • Avoid placating: This simply means to avoid agreeing with everything anyone else is saying, just to avoid conflict.

16. Question • “Avoid finding references from your own background and compare them to what the speaker is saying.” • What element of poor listening is this?

17. Listening and Merely Hearing • Focus on the other person. Totally put your own thoughts and feelings aside. • Listen to what the customer is saying to you as well as with a focus to understand. • How do you know if you are truly focused on another person? • You will be able to pick up the thoughts and feelings surrounding their words. You’ll be able to get the big picture that is inside their heads.

18. Listening Cont. • Restate the other person’s idea using your own words out loud. • If we can paraphrase another person, we accomplish two things: we demonstrate that we truly understand and the other party can know what we don, in fact, understand. • Listening eliminates second guessing and much misunderstanding. • If you can understand, you will be able to move mountains. Without it, you are not really listening.

19. Question • What two things can you accomplish by being able to paraphrase others?

20. Action Tips on What to Do and Say on the Phone • Answer the phones promptly: Two rings or less is ideal. Also, be prepared to handle them. Doing so conveys professionalism and willingness to serve the patient. Always have paper and pen to write down notes such as the patient’s name and problem. Breathe and smile before you pick up the phone. • Use courtesy titles: Not ever person that you encounter on the phone will have the same opinion on using them. If you’re unsure whether to use a first name, call them by the more professional courtesy title. Patients will let you know if they want to be called by their first name.

21. Tips Cont. • Thank people for calling: Thank you is the most powerful phrase in customer service. They’ll appreciate your service even more if you show them how much you appreciate their business. Even if they’re upset, make sure to apologize and thank them for their patience while figuring out the issue. • Smile: When talking to someone on the phone, talk to them as if you were face to face with them. If you keep a smile on your face during the conversation, it will come out in your voice tones.

22. Tips Cont. • Be sure the conversation is finished before you hang up: Make sure if you initiated the call to thank the person for their help and see if there’s anything else you can do to help them. If you’re receiving the call, do the same things. Just be sure that the patient has every concern addressed before you hang up. • Handle the upset caller with tact and skill: No matter how wonderful of a practice we may run, there will always be upset patients. Make sure to handle them in the most professional way. Make sure to understand what’s actually upsetting them. Do your best to diffuse the situation with a calm voice and understanding.

23. Question • How many rings is ideal to answer the phone promptly?

24. Action Tips on How to Express Yourself on the Phone • Keep your conversation tactful and businesslike: When a patient calls, the first impression they will get of our practice is from the person who answers the phone. Using proper English and keeping the conversation professional will always give a great first impression of our practice. • Speak naturally and comfortably: Speak to the patient as you would a friend. A strong clear voice will help with any conversation you may have. If you try to force your voice, most people will feel that there’s something fake about the way you’re speaking to them.

25. Tips Cont. • Don’t let dead air happen: Always inform the patient of what you’re doing. If there’s a gap in the conversation, most people will wonder if you’re even trying to help them in the first place. • Keep callers on track: Some people have the gift for gab. You may have already solved the patient’s problem, but the conversation carries on for an extra 3 minutes. You could’ve missed two other phone calls and instead, they went to voice mail.

26. Question • Fill in the blanks: ______ inform the _______ of what you are _______ .

28. Day 2 Wednesday April 27, 2011

29. Patient Turnoffs • Turnoffs are things that can lead to a very bad risk of losing our patients. Following are examples of turnoffs. • Value Turnoffs: over-priced services; quality not as good as expected • Systems Turnoffs: slow service; dental office is dirty; inconvenient location, layout, parking, or access • People Turnoffs: lack of courtesy and attention; unknowledgeable or unhelpful dental assistants; dental assistant appearance or mannerisms

30. Question • What are some examples of turnoffs in a dental office?

31. Patient Pet Peeves • Negative experiences tend to stick in patients’ minds more than positive ones. • Following are some examples of pet peeves: being ignored, receiving rude or indifferent service, having to wait a long time, or even poor quality in work and appearance.

32. Question • True or False: Positive experiences tend to stick in patients’ minds more than negative ones.

33. How to Deal with Difficult Patients • A great way to deal with difficult patients is to get advice and learn different techniques from those in the same industry as you. The following are examples of difficult patients. • Child Patients: They are the hardest to get to sit still in examination chairs. Some even tend to be hesitant and nervous about visiting the dentist.

34. Difficult Patients Cont. • Elderly Patients: The number of elderly patients keeps on rising. So, you need to learn how to make clinical choices for them, the contact of different medications on oral health, and being able to know how to give medication for the strength and well-being of their mouths. • Special Needs Patients: They necessitate extra care, time, or even unique equipment so you can give them proper treatments for their mouths.

35. Question • Does the number of elderly patients keep on rising, decreasing, or stay the same?

36. Dental Office Expectations • “If you’re going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big.” -Donald Trump • The goals you have for your dental office determine how successful your office will be. • Hand out as many pickles as you can. Go above and beyond the ordinary. • If you don’t pass out a lot of pickles, you could end up losing much of your business.

37. Expectations Cont. • Here are three steps for success. • Raise YOUR expectations for your dental office. • Make your expectations well known and clear. • Reward yourself and your team when your expectations are met or exceeded. • Remember, just make sure you have reasonable expectations and your success will go through the roof.

38. Question • Multiple Choice: Who said the following quote: “If you’re going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big.”? • A: Walt Disney • B: Bob Farrell • C: Donald Trump • D: Bill Gates

39. How to Handle Stress in the Dental Office • Every single person on this Earth gets stressed out about or worries over stuff. • The last thing anybody needs at a dental office is to become more worried or stressed than they already are. • Did you know that you can relieve stress in your dental office by using just the five senses? • The following are ideas on how you can prevent stress in your dental office by using taking advantage of the five senses.

40. Stress Cont. • Soothed on Sight: fresh flowers; unusual coffee-table books or magazines; serenity fountains; fish tanks; movies playing for kids • Sounds that Soothe: personal headphones; soft music; not yelling; talk normally • Soothed by Touch: lip balm; lotion; decent room temperature; gentle mouth handling; hand holding for kids • Soothing Smells: aromatherapy scents; food scents • Tasteful Soothers: mouthwash; mints or gum; toothpaste (used for cleaning patients’ teeth in check ups) in a variety of flavors

41. Question • Who is affected by stress?

42. ThankYouEverybody For Coming!!