More Front Desk Comments That Are Costing You Thousands – Never Say This!

With my beady marketing  brain totally engaged in everything related to front desk team performance and  scripting – I almost fell out of my chair over what I heard  whilst in the waiting room of a local health care provider last  week.

I had one eye on the  magazine I was reading – one eye on the clock as I hate my time being wasted  –  and both ears firmly focused on the dialogue and words in play  at the front desk.

I am sure you have heard  these comments used by the admin team in your business – but hopefully you  stamped them out straight away.

The classic comments that  really got me going were:

Now in fairness – I am not  sure what the therapist told the admin person about the plan for this patient –  however – I assume if the patient did not need another appointment – the script  would have been more direct than that.

From my recent emails  outlining the evils of the “Are You Re-Booking” script – I am sure you can see  the problems this comment can cause and why the business owner needs to ensure  this never happens again.

So what is the second  disaster script?

At which point the patient  said : “I will just call you when I get the report” – paid their bill and left –  end of story.

You can see my frustration at this conversation.

Whilst I appreciate that  the patient may need to have the diagnostic report before attending their next  consult – there is no way I would want the patient left with  the instruction for them to “call us when your report arrives to book your next  session“.

I would prefer the admin  person estimated that time it usually takes for a report to arrive -proceed to  book the patient in at a suitable time – then ask the patient  to call the clinic to move their appointment forward if the report happens to  arrive earlier than expected.

If at all possible –  never leave the responsibility of calling to book follow up appointments  to the patient – this is  a recipe for disaster.

We have all been there –  as patients – we get busy – something comes up – we forget – the dog gets sick –  etc etc – these things all get in our way and as a result we forget to call to  book that follow up appointment.

Even though we  know we should.

Your admin team  MUST understand their job is to secure the follow up booking  then and there.

Not just because it is  great for the business – a good reason I know- but also because it is in the  best interests of the patient.

We have a moral obligation  as high quality health providers to make sure our patients attend their  treatment sessions and have the best chance to get a great result.

Leaving the scheduling of  appointments and getting the patient to call back to book these sessions – just  leads to poor outcomes and a drop in your client results.

Learn from my examples –  but start to become a “front desk detective”.

Listen intently to all  front desk conversation and see where you can improve and modify them – to  ensure a better outcome for everyone.

I hope you take my advice  – because you will be amazed how much money is lost – and how  many patients end up with poor outcomes – due to front desk disasters like  these.

If  you are interested in  how to increase the profits and productivity from your front desk team then make  sure you register for my upcoming seminar:

 “The  Ultimate Front Desk – How to Maximize Profits and Productivity from Your  Administration Team “.

This great event will  cover all front desk duties – with special focus on scripting, call conversion,  re-booking, time management and cancellation reduction.

Essentially the key areas  that cost you money each and every day in your health  business.

You can see  full details of the course and register you and your team by  going to the link below: