Word Of Mouth – A Dental Blog

What a world we are all living in- just trying to make it through the day!  One might think that considering the changing economic climate businesses would be interested in providing customer service that would keep customers happy, satisfied and loyal.  But in the case of Nissan Motor Corporation, that would not be the case.

In January of this year I leased a new Infinity when the lease on my old one was up.  Drove the old one to the dealer, picked up the new one and drove away.  Simple.  Or so I thought.  Seems like the dealer arm didn’t communicate well with the financial support arm.  Now the financial arm of Nissan thinks I still have the old automobile and keeps calling me every evening, telling me I am 60 days in arrears on the old lease.  Countless phone calls and faxes have possibly resolved the problem but what a waste of my time.  What wasn’t really my problem became my problem.  The point of all this is that nobody on the other end listened; no one cared enough about a loyal customer to try to solve my problem.  Didn’t leave a good taste in my mouth.

In a healthcare world that has become, at times, very depersonalized, I still believe that patients want to feel cared for and cared about.  It’s the personal connection between doctor and patient that is so important.    My team and I believe in a very individualized, personal approach to patient care.  It’s important for us to understand our patients concerns, listen to their stories, and help them meet their treatment goals.  And while we think we are providing great customer service we are now about to initiate an in- office project to see if this is truly the case.  We are going to begin looking at how our patients are treated, and what their perception of treatment is, starting with the first phone call and proceeding through each phase of the patient experience.  We are going to ask our patients to provide us with feedback about how they feel they are being treated; are they comfortable, are their expectations being met, and are we creating a quality care experience that makes them feel comfortable returning for care and referring other who may need similar kinds of care.   Are we listening and responding appropriately?

 So if you are reading this, and you are a patient in our practice, feel free to respond in kind.  Send us an e-mail or call us in the office.  We’re anxious to include you and hear what you have to say.  It’s the only way we can get better!

As always, thanks for listening.

RMS