Do your customers believe you are delivering great customer service?

By Jayne Bandy

I’m sure you already know how important it is to all businesses to deliver consistent GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE.

But what if, the Great Customer Service you are delivering is not so great in the eyes of your customers?

Are you getting your customer service wrong?

You might be trying to be everything to everyone, only to be diluting the impact of your customer service delivery.

So, how do you know if you are hitting the mark with your customers, when it comes to the delivery of customer service?

Do you sit there hoping you don’t get bad reviews and phone call complaints, or do you make sure you are on top of it and consistently ask your customers for feedback to guide you?

I’m the sort of person that gives both positive and negative feedback when I personally receive good and bad customer service.

I usually do what most people do when they receive bad customer service. Yes,

I have a rant about how disappointed I am and tell a few people before I speak to the people who have delivered the bad customer service.

This is the dangerous time for businesses. The time between when the customer is either extremely or moderately disappointment and angry and finally contact you.

After all there is an exchange for the services you provide, and people can feel ripped off if they have not been happy with your customer service.

One of the biggest issues people have when they received bad customer service is being ignored or made to feel unimportant.

A story from my friend

Aperson I know very well, finally received an email from a company that had failed to reply in an acceptable time frame. The email was quite generic and impersonal and started by letting her know they prided themselves on delivering great customer service to their valued clients. My friend was not receiving great customer service and was not feeling like a valued client. Why would you tell your customer you deliver great customer service when you did not?

The best and only way to ever give great customer service is to consistently show it in your actions. Anyone can tell you how great they are.

You need to SHOW IT!

Ok, let’s go back to consistently asking customers for their feedback.

Now when you ask your customers for feedback you will get good feedback, but you do open yourself up to receive bad feedback if your customer service has been bad. So be prepared.

I always see negative customer service feedback as a GIFT.

Your customer has given you the gift of awareness and the gift of opportunity to make positive changes.

You benefit and the customer benefits after you make the changes needed to improve your customer service.

There is nothing worse than not knowing your customer service is BAD!

Eventually someone comes forward to tell you about your bad customer service but it’s often too late for all the customers you have lost because you had no idea your customer service was awful.

If you are concerned that you are not delivering customer service to your patients the way you should be, then start by asking your customers for their feedback and remember feedback is only as good as what you do with it. Again, you may not like what you hear but take the feedback seriously and make changes.

Your customer service may be failing on the very first phone call, you may not be making your patients feel loved when they arrive at your front door, you might not be listening to your patients and matching what they want as well as what they need.

One of the worst stories I heard was a Dental Practice who thought they were doing everything right until they discovered they had lost patients because of how a team member was speaking to them on the phone.

Make sure this is NEVER YOU!

The Dental Phone Excellence Online Master Class

dentalphoneexcellencemasterclass.com I listened to you and finally my Master Class is here ONLINE just for YOU! Your team do not need a day off work to attend this Master Class. YOUR TEAM can complete the Dental Phone Excellence Master Class right there in your practice at their own pace. The BEST part of my Master Class is that you have it FOREVER! dentalphoneexcellencemasterclass.com

About the author

Jayne began her career as an educator. After spending several years teaching, she made the jump to practice management, serving as a Practice Manager for a renowned dentist in Sydney for more than 25 years, giving her first-hand experience at what works when it comes to building and maintaining patient relationships, how to convert leads over the phone and most importantly - what it takes to reach your practice goals. As the CEO and Founder of Dental Phone Excellence, Jayne helps practices convert more calls into appointments, reduce cancellations and nurture effective patient communication that will result in increased profitability. Her past experience as an educator combined with her passion for practice management gives her a unique set of skills that allows your team to fully understand and take advantage of the tools she presents.

For more information on what to say and ask your patients, call 1300-378-044 or email jayne@thedpe.com

ACCOUNTING & FINANCIAL SERVICES FOR DENTISTS

DON’T RISK SECOND BEST

Synstrat has spent many years collecting data on dental practices. We provide you with the best available knowledge on the performance of your practice relative to others. Our proven service has assisted many dentists Australia wide to create significant wealth. We are able to provide you with business accounting, practice valuation and financial advice services tailored to the dental profession. Buying A Practice?

•Do you need us to value the practice?

•What rent can it afford?

• How do you structure to meet tax planning requirements?

• What changes should you make to the practice business plan?

NOW AVAILABLE: Synstrat Dental Stories

The Synstrat Group

www.synstrat.com.au

TO RECEIVE THE BOOK

You can either e-mail dental@synstat.com.au with your request for the book together with your postal address or go to www.synstrat.com.au, navigate to the Synstrat Publications area and fill in the form. You will then be forwarded the book.

ALSO AVAILABLE: 50 Rules for Success as a Dentist Buying and Selling Specialist Dental Practices

Speak to Paul Steel or David Collins on (03) 9843 7777 or email dental@synstrat.com.au