#882: Give Your Patients a Memorable Experience

Dental A Team Podcast

We all want our patients to be raving fans of our practice, right? Kiera gives tips on how to have your patients know they’ve hit an absolute gold mine in terms of dental care.

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Transcript:

Kiera Dent (00:00.686)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and welcome to the podcast. I hope you guys are having such a great day today. I hope that you remember that we truly are so blessed to work in dentistry. In my opinion, it is the greatest industry that we could ever be a part of and we're just so lucky to be a part of it. So welcome to the podcast. Thank you guys for being a part of the Dental A Team podcast family. Can you believe how long we've been going? Like how many episodes when I see people like, wow, episode 894. And I'm like, my gosh.

That's so many episodes. We are about to break that thousand episode mark. And I just want to remind you guys, if you are new to the podcast, welcome. If you've been here for a while, also a reminder to head on over to our website, TheDentalATeam .com and click on the podcast tab. There, there is a search bar. And so you can always search scheduling or billing or office optimization or associates or CPA or taxes or literally any topic that you want. I kind of take it as a little bit more advanced version than Google.

and you can search any topic and every podcast that I've ever done on that topic will pull up for you. So that way it might make that 900 episodes that seem as daunting. Just want to remind you, so head on over to TheDentalATeam .com, use it for a team resource. A lot of people want to make processes and protocols. They want to do training for new hires. Use the podcast as a resource. It's a free resource for you. We have lots of videos on YouTube as well. So some offices have even taken some of the stuff I've done.

use the verbiage and they've actually made it into their onboarding documents. By all means, please let's work smarter, not harder. And that's my goal of the podcast is to truly make your guys' life incredible. I love to give back. And all I ask in return is that you share this with somebody every time you listen. Share it with somebody, share it in a Facebook group, tag us on social media, but share it because the more people you share it with, the more hands it gets into.

And then that way we're able to be in every single practice. That's my goal is to be in every single dental office and just truly serve with positivity and tactical, practical in practice. So today's podcast today is going to be, I was actually at, I think I was at lunch with some friends. One of the people is a client of mine and.

Kiera Dent (02:13.646)

The other one is her husband. And so we were sitting at lunch and her husband works in the food industry. And so it's interesting when I go with them, I'm always like, my gosh, I've got to make sure I tip really well. And her husband said to me, he said, Kiera, there's a difference between a good tip and a memorable tip. There's a difference between being friendly or being memorable. Everyone is pleasant or everyone's a jerk. He said, but really being that memorable person in a positive way. And he said, we always only get one opportunity to make that impression.

And so I've thought about it a lot of, you know, maybe I'm not always going to give a memorable tip, but thinking about it, like everybody typically tips, you know, 15, 20 % is the standard right now. But how can I make it where it's super memorable? And I thought about it because I watched this guy and I've hung out with them for several years. They're really dear friends to me. And I watch him and everywhere he goes. So if he goes into a restaurant, people are like, my gosh, hi.

put him right at the perfect table. He rarely ever has to wait in line ever. Wherever we go, I notice he kind of gets this VIP treatment. And like he said, there's a difference between a good tip and a memorable tip. And working in the food industry, I've thought about this of like, you know, I'm a nice person and I'm pleasant. Like he said, like everyone's pretty much pleasant, but how do you become memorable? And so I know I'm coming from a food standard of how can we be memorable and like just a way to get through life if you know, like.

your hair girl or your nail girl or things like that where you maybe want a little extra treatment like this person they can get into the pedicure spot anytime they want any day, any night, whatever they need because they've been memorable to these people. And so I was thinking about it of is your practice pleasant and a good experience or is it a memorable experience and how can we make our practices memorable?

We all have an opportunity. Every dental practice is pretty much nice. I mean, I've consulted a lot of offices and generally speaking, the front office is really nice. The dental assistants are nice. People are nice. Sometimes it gets a little crazy. I mean, I've seen some that are not so great. I've had some front office where I walk in and they don't even smile. And I think like I'm a freaking consulted. I'm here to critique in the nicest way possible, but you're not even saying hi when I walk in is the first thing on my list. So I think...

Kiera Dent (04:26.03)

just knowing that, but generally speaking, most practices are nice. So what could you guys do to make your practice memorable where people are raving fans and want to refer to you all the time? And I don't think it necessarily costs money per se, but things I've been thinking about as I was prepping for this podcast are like, when they come in, do we work, like, do we greet them to where it's like they're our best friend? And we're so grateful that they're there. When we answer the phone, it's our front office and front office team members. I'm chatting with you too.

are you doing your best to like make a magic moment for that person? If you guys go back, there's an incredible book called Unreasonable Hospitality, and they talked about creating magic moments for their guests at this restaurant, and they called them guests. And I just think about it, like also if we were to change it and think of our patients coming in as guests, would we treat them differently than we currently do? I just went to Disneyland and we took our company there for our company retreat and...

We ended up doing a VIP tour, which is incredible. And I'm happy to geek out on Disney all day long. But the reason I did that with my team was because I wanted them to see a different level of customer service. I already think Disney is top notch on so many levels, but now let's take it to a next level. And how can we do that VIP within our company? What are you doing again, not to just have a nice experience, but a memorable, positive experience in your practice? What is your team doing to make a magic moment? When we're confirming, do we just feel like, it's just mundane like, hi, Kiera.

We're calling to confirm your appointment at eight o 'clock. What could you do even just in the energy that we put out there? And what I wrote, it's literally sitting right here. I'm looking at my, you know, here we go, my little planner for the week. Above my coaching call day, I wrote magic moments. And I do that on every coaching call day because it's not just a coaching call. I could get very mundane.

But for me, every coaching call is a magic moment. And my goal is to create a magic moment or a breakthrough or deliver more value than that client has ever experienced, whether they've been with me for one month or whether they've been with me for five or six years to bring a magic moment to that day on coaching calls. What if your friend office started doing magic moments when they did confirmations or what if your treatment coordinator, their goal was to make such a memorable experience with every single patient that came through.

Kiera Dent (06:41.07)

just to give them this incredible experience. And again, it's not a lot of time. I think it's intentionality of what, what are we doing and how are we presenting this instead of it just being a male of like, all right, it's a job. How are we making these memorable magic moments within our practice for dentists? How is your experience where it's so top notch? I have a doctor that I can think of right now who really left an impressionable experience on me. I've been to the doctor quite a few times in my life. And the one that I remember the most was actually my ER doc when I went in and I actually had my appendix.

And I don't remember him because he made me feel better. And so I got my appendix out when we were in Arizona, but I remember this doctor because he was an ER doctor and he came in and I remember just him being so kind and sitting there. And I felt like he had all the time in the world for me. Now he's an ER doctor and Jason told me, my husband, he left and he went outside the room and he's like, Kiera, this man is literally freaking sprinting between rooms.

And as soon as he like gets the door, he like calms himself, walks in and just is like so present, I think is probably the best word, so present and attentive to my needs. And then as soon as he was done, he like sprinted to the next room behind the scenes. And I just thought that doctor made me feel so seen, so heard, so loved, so cared about. I remember he's like, Kiera, there's no reward here for like being the tough girl. Like let's get you some medicine. That way you'll feel better. But he was so present and intentional when he was with me.

And it didn't take a lot of time. It's not like I sat there with him for hours, but I remember that doctor and we were talking, this has been 10 years since I had my appendix out. And I still remember he left a very memorable impression on me. And again, people were like, it's cause you had your appendix out and you're in so much pain. And I'm like, no, like whatever. I had a lot of people that gave me medicine, but that doctor was so intentional when he was in my room that I felt seen hurt and I felt valued. I didn't feel like I was just a number or a job for him. So hi, Jenis.

How can you make your patients have those magic moments every single time? And I don't think that, yes, there's a point of remembering things. Like I have another doctor and she said, hey, Kiera, how was your trip? Whenever I see her, she's a chiropractor who's working on my nerves because I've got some really bizarre things happening right now. And I said, Chris, how do you remember all this? I said, do you write it down? Because that's what we do in dentistry. And she said, no, I just genuinely care about you and your life. And I remember these things. And I thought about that of...

Kiera Dent (09:03.374)

she genuinely cares about me. She's a fee for service person. I could go to somebody much cheaper, but I know she cares about me as a human. And so how can we do that memorable experience? That's what creates the raving fans. That's what creates the referrals. That's what creates a word of mouth referrals. That's what grows businesses is by having these very memorable experiences, just like a tip, right? I can go in, I can tip the waiter because I feel like that's what I need to do. Or I can have a memorable tip where they remember me as well.

When I come in the next time, it's like, my gosh, Kiera, here's a red carpet for you. But like they said, everybody is pleasant. But how can we make our dental practice be that experience that's memorable? So that's what I was thinking. And maybe this would be a really awesome team exercise for you guys. If you guys want a good team meeting, I think this could be an amazing one where it's like each department, how are we going to create a memorable experience for every patient that comes through? Doctors, how can you be like that ER doctor that I gave you the example of? And same thing with hygienists.

How can our front office have it be where we feel like it's like Disneyland? I mean, they take so much intentionality with each person that's there and how can we do that? What can we change? Can we move the phones to where someone is not necessarily sitting there? So the person who is checking in patients is super present, super aware, very intentional with them. I'm not sure, I'm just throwing out ideas, but what would make it to where it feels very memorable as opposed to just an everyday transaction? Like I said, when we go to the bank, when we go here,

I also think right now is a great time because I don't think that customer service is top of mind for 90 % of businesses right now. It's like people don't care if you're there or not. People aren't kind to you. People don't look up at you. People don't make eye contact with you. And so I think dental practices actually have an amazing opportunity to really disrupt the industry and to make it where you change it. What other things could you do? And again, I don't think these cost money. They just are genuine intentional pieces. How can you make perfect handoffs with your team so it feels like every person knows what's going on?

How can we make our presenting of treatment even stronger to where the patient feels very confident with us? Again, how can we make these memorable moments? And so like I said, maybe have a team meeting where every department comes to the table and we look to see what would be very meaningful and what could we all do to enhance that to where it's no longer just coming to the dentist, but it's something that people genuinely look forward to.

Kiera Dent (11:22.67)

That's just a question to ask. So I really just thought it was a beautiful thing that my friend and I were talking about. I have not stopped thinking about this. And we're talking, it's been several months since we had this conversation of how can I make memorable impressions consistently? And that can be exhausting, but I also think it can be very fun. And I think reading the book, Unreasonable Hospitality is a great way to remember like every single patient that comes through, we have an opportunity to make a magic moment or a memorable experience for them in a positive way.

Disney, I love going there because I feel like VIP, everyone's so nice. Everybody's smiling. Everybody's so kind. I feel like you don't get that. And that creates the magic of Disney. That's why I love going there. People are like, Kiera why do you go as an adult? And I'm like, because I feel the magic. It feels so happy. The ride people are so nice. They're waving like they love it. Their onstage presence is incredible. Even if they're having a bad day, you don't feel that way. There's no sadness from the employees there. It just feels like this happy, magical place. But it's a job for them. It's literally a job for them. And yet,

They wave at you when you leave on the ride. They're so happy. They say, welcome back. You know, people that smile at you, even though they're doing their jobs, how can your practice be that way too? And make that memorable experience that patients rave about and want to refer. So this is something I'm obsessed with helping offices do. I love helping practices get this experience where it's truly something that patients remember in a positive way and that they want to share with everybody. So.

Take it to your team, try this out. If you guys need us to help you with team meetings like this, reach out Hello @ TheDentalATeam .com. And as always, thanks for listening. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.