Written by Ginny Togrye
As many of our patients know, we recently attended the
American Association of Orthodontists Annual Meeting in Orlando. We love to attend, because not only are we
updated on industry information, but also new ideas for marketing and customer
service. My favorite seminar was delivered by Dennis Snow, a former Disney
executive about, “Delivering World Class Customer Service.” He was an
exceptional speaker and it was evident he lived the Disney Experience. He
shared 4 principles,
#1 Through the Lens of the Customer
#2 Everything Speaks
#3 Create Moments of Wow
#4 Know What Frustrates Your Customers
To explore what the customer sees involves stepping back. “The
longer we do what we do, the more we think that our patients know what we know,”
shared Mr. Snow. For this reason, all
the systems in the office must be dissected through a service mapping flow
chart, from the patient’s perspective. Once a system is mapped, each block in
the flow chart can be examined to decide what mediocre service might look like
and what excellent service looks like. From
this practice, system changes can be made and implemented, for example, the passing of a customer
service call to another team member. With mediocre service, the patient would
observe being placed on hold, transferred to another staff member and having to
repeat the story again. Excellent service would involve, “passing the
baton.” The patient would observe the receptionist
listening to the story, and then realize the story was relayed because the
receiving team member picked up the call, called them by name and the story was
recapped back to them before resolution. World class customer service is all
about the details, and it is important to view what your customer sees, note
the things that speak distraction in your setting and make changes that speak
commitment as a team.
The moments of truth in business are what set us apart and
are at one of the top levels of customer service. These little moments of Wow
add up. It is important to remember, when dealing with customers, “that every
person we meet is fighting battles we know nothing about,” shared Mr. Snow. Togrye
Orthodontics has an exceptional positive team, but we still need to remember
this fact and recommit to our philosophy of “Live Life Smiling.” We may be the only positive part of someone’s
day.
We must also know what frustrates our customers and do
something about it. For this reason,
customer service is continuous and ever changing. It is a great practice to quarterly evaluate
and address. If one item can be improved
each time they are evaluated, it is monumental.
Mr. Snow also shared a pyramid of customer expectations. The
bottom of the pyramid included Accuracy and Availability (Dissatisfiers-what
patients expect). The next level consisted of Partnership, which included WOW
opportunities. The highest level of customer service is advice, which involves
teaching your patients something and providing information as an expert. Each
level earns you the right to the next level. The top level results in
enthusiastic fans with loyalty.
Mr. Snow was my last seminar of the
conference and the best. Thank you to Mr. Snow for helping us rethink the way
we look at customer service by seeing through different eyes, illuminating
details and frustrations so we can create moments of wow. For more information contact:
Dennis Snow,
President, Snow & Associates, Inc. 407-294-1855 or dennis@snowassociates.com.
Info about
Togrye Orthodontics Contact: 615-848-0011 or info@bracesdoc.com
www.bracesdoc.com
