Monday Morning Meeting: 5 Chances to Make a Good First Impression – Telephone

Monday Morning Meeting: 5 Chances to Make a Good First Impression – Telephone

Have you ever walked into an office and thought, “These guys get it”? Their reception area is up-to-date, clean, fresh. Their receptionist is personable, friendly and helpful. Their office materials are professional and organized. Those are the offices where the staff and doctor “get” that making a good first impression is everything.

However, there are many offices out there that either don’t care or don’t think about making a good first impression. What a waste! Making a good first impression can make or break a patient’s experience in your office. And you only get five chances to wow a new patient.

Chance 2: Telephone

Your receptionist is a patient’s first point of contact at your office.  How they answer the phone, speak with the patient, and conduct themselves throughout the call can literally make or break your office. If a patient reacts negatively to your receptionist, they are less likely to call and more likely to warn others away from calling. This is bad.

Take a step back and evaluate your receptionists phone skills. All PDM sites come with call tracking and recording, so you can easily listen to their ability to answer questions and schedule appointments. If your immediate reaction is one of frustration, imagine how your patients are feeling!

Some things to consider:

• 1.     How is the phone answered? If your receptionist answers the phone “Doctors office”, you’ve got problems my friend…
• 2.     Does a “live” person answer the phone?
• 3.     How long does a patient typically wait on hold?
• 4.     Do you have background information or music while the caller is on hold?
• 5.     How many times is a customer put on hold or transferred during the call?
• 6.     How quickly are calls returned?