This week, we’ve talked about bad customer service (at water parks and other places) and what good customer service feels like (with Carlos at our favorite Mexican food joint).
To wrap up this week’s chats about customer service, let’s talk a minute about a possibly polarizing topic:
Your great treatment results don’t equate to great customer service.
Here’s a patient review illustrating exactly what I mean:
To paraphrase: “The doctor was great, but the rest of my experience was not. 1-star.”
Even if you give your patients great outcomes, weak customer service can still hold you back from reaching your growth goals.
Want another food example? I thought you’d never ask…
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If I go to a steakhouse that has an amazing ribeye…
But the hostess isn’t friendly, the waiter isn’t attentive, and part of our order is wrong…
I’m gonna be hard-pressed to return for another dinner. EVEN IF the main reason I went there – the steak – was excellent.
It’s easy to say, “Yeah our wait times are long, sure our front desk gets overwhelmed, and maybe our billing department makes small mistakes from time to time, but we get great results for our patients so it shouldn’t be that big a deal.”
I agree – it probably shouldn’t be that big a deal. But it is.
And when you aren’t firing on all cylinders across every step of the Patient Journey, your growth will be capped.
Maybe you get a bad review like the one above. In other cases, it will result in a long-time patient finding another provider.
At the very least, it’s going to hurt your happy patient referrals.
Hey Sally, was ABC Eye Center awesome?
“Well I like my results. They aren’t the friendliest folks. And their wait times are forever. And they were supposed to call me back about a billing question I had, and they haven’t done that. But yeah, I mean… they were fine.”
☝️ That’s a ho-hum testimonial from ho-hum customer service.
You don’t want a patient delivering that message to their friend. And you certainly don’t want that patient delivering that message to the entire planet via Google reviews:
You are a world-class provider. And for that reason, I want what you want – raving fans who preach your amazing care to the world.
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In conclusion: pay as much attention to Customer Service – to crafting the Ultimate Patient Journey – as you pay to the care and results you personally give to your patients.
Hopefully that doesn’t sound impossible to you. I assure you it’s doable because I work with many practices who do this very thing. They put an inordinate amount of focus on the Patient Journey, and they reap massive rewards for doing it:
Tons of referrals (from happy patients and other doctors alike), happy patient reviews (free marketing), commanding premium prices, higher conversions to surgery, and one more important thing…
A happier, healthier, positive Team Culture. Yes, even your team benefits for excellent Customer Service.
Your surgery results AND your Customer Service should both be A+. If they aren’t, no worries. Just start taking steps to fix it.
That’s all I have for you today. Enjoy your weekend.
Forever rooting for your success,
Troy “Patient Journeyman” Cole
PS – If this sounds overwhelming, OR if you’re wondering “where do I start?” OR if you think I’m just flat-out wrong… shoot me a message and tell me. I’m here to help, and I always appreciate your feedback.
PPS – Customer Service is one of several Practice Growth Factors we teach in our E3 Conversion System Bootcamp. Enrollment for the Fall Session of our Bootcamps is closing soon, and we have a couple of spots left. If you want more info, head over here and book a Strategy Session asap. It’s time to go. Let’s do this.