Striving for the Disney Experience at Togrye Orthodontics: 4 Principles Recap of Dennis Snow’s AAO Presentation

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