Does Your Staff’s Attitude Turn Off Patients Before They Even See The Doctor?

Do you know what goes on at your front desk or what happens when patients try to call you? These questions are always a practice management concern of mine, especially in a very busy office. Although doctors say they care, their attention is elsewhere, namely on the patients they are treating. In fact, there are very few times that doctors are available to really sit and observe the everyday activities. They hire staff to manage their front desk but unless someone makes them aware of an incident or they happen to overhear a suspect conversation, it is generally out of sight, out of mind.

Typically, the receptionist or front desk staff does not receive proper training in telephone handling or customer service. Too many times they don’t have enough help and are on overload. It is not always their fault. They are in control of the “nerve center” of the practice and are accordingly expected to control a fantastic range of activities simultaneously, often requiring “right now” attention. For example, at the same time the phone rings, a patient is checking in, another waits to be checked out, a second line rings and now there are two patients on hold. UPS drops off packages and needs a signature, a patient sitting in your reception room is complaining of the wait and another patient is concerned about the pain in his foot. Then the phone rings again. A pharmacy needs approval for a prescription. Whew!

You get the picture. Since your receptionist is trying to multitask, it is guaranteed someone or something is going to get rushed, mistakes will be made, patients will hang up, attention to detail will suffer, things will get overlooked, and the staff’s stress level goes from 0 to 60 very quickly. When that happens, customer service is suddenly not a priority.

I know this scenario well because I see it and I recently experienced it. I had an eye concern this week so I called my regular optometrist. It was just my luck. He was out of the office. In his absence, his office staff referred me to their covering ophthalmologist. I called immediately, hoping to get in ASAP. I reached a call center and they told me all schedulers are busy and I should leave my name and number, and someone would get back to me … shortly.

Shortly? What does that mean exactly? That is one of those words that could mean five minutes or five days. Foolishly, I was thinking five minutes. However, 30 minutes passed and then another 30 minutes went by. After an hour of not hearing from them, I called back. Same message. In another 30 minutes, I gave it one more try. This time, I had the option of waiting for the next available scheduler. I chose to wait and wait I did. After 10 minutes elapsed, I hung up.

Now, at this point, had this been a non-emergent condition, I would have given up and called another office. However, because of the relationship that office had with my optometrist, I held firm and finally got through. At last. The very first question out of the receptionist’s mouth (before I could even explain my problem) was, “What kind of insurance do you have?” Although I had coverage, she refused to give me an appointment until I gave her my ID numbers, which were not immediately available to me. I left my office, went home, got my card, called the ophthalmologist back and guess what? “All schedulers are busy. Please leave your name and number, and someone will get back to you shortly.” AUGHHHHH!!!! Here we go again.

After numerous calls and several hours later, I finally got an appointment for the next day. I walked in the door, gave my name (and insurance card!) to the receptionist (who must have forgotten how to smile or actually look up). There was some back and forth about the paperwork after which the receptionist told me to take a seat. I sat in the reception area filled with people waiting to be seen, silently swearing I would never step foot in this office again after I see this doctor. An assistant eventually called me in and took me to a room where she performed a number of eye tests. When that was finished, she escorted me to an internal waiting area with a TV (bad sign) along with 10 other people whom I was sure were before me. I was right.

My dissatisfaction just escalated and I had not even seen the doctor yet. I felt as if I was on the patient assembly line in an “eye repair” factory and just about ready to bail (there is only so much HGTV one can watch) when they called my name. This assistant led me into a treatment room and as she turned to leave, she said, “The doctor will be in shortly.” (There is that word again.)

I was going to give it five minutes max but the doctor arrived in four minutes. He reached out his hand and introduced himself. His warm, welcoming smile was the first sign of kindness I had received. He apologized for the wait, examined my eyes, listened intently and was empathetic to my symptoms. He explained my condition and the recommended treatment, gave me reading material to take home, asked if I had any questions and escorted me out the door.

I was very impressed with him. I even considered changing practitioners because he was very engaging and extremely competent. I actually would have switched had the staff extended the necessary “care-tactics” that would have sealed the deal to win me over as a full time patient. Consequently, I have no plans to return and will stay with my optometrist, who “had me at hello.”

Front desk staff are the face of the office. They are your patients’ first point of contact. They are responsible for setting the tone of the office and giving it personality. In addition to completing their tasks, part of the staff’s job is to make patients feel welcome. This is exactly why it is important to check in with them personally on a regular basis. Is your staff in control, capable and pleasant (if they are, I hope you acknowledge and appreciate it) or are they on overload, resulting in their potential indifferent and uncaring attitude? More importantly, do you even know?

Every patient deserves to be cared for in a way that ensures his or her return, and encourages the patient to refer family and friends. Bottom line: You may be the best DPM on the planet. However, if your staff is not creating and stimulating that expected good first impression, you may be losing patients before they even have a chance to find out.