I’m sure you know the feeling; you
begin to feel weirdness in your jaw.
You’ve had that feeling before so you can identify the problem, but you choose
to deny it. Having suffered all weekend
long, I found myself in the dreadful
chair; the dentist chair. After a fairly
quick assessment, all parties determined
that I needed a root canal. After a successful procedure, I left the office still
numb from the Novocain. As the
Novocain wore off, I quickly felt a great
deal of pain; very different than what I
initially went to the dentist’s office for.
The pain radiated along the entire left
side of my face. I know now that this can
be an after effect of root-canal work, but
at the time all I knew was seemingly
unrelated and nearly unbearable pain.
After attempting to tough it out through
a torturous night of throbbing and stabbing sleep depravation, I knew I had to
go back to the chair.
Dr. Delgado, a local endodontist, saw
my pain and went right to work. Delgado
found the cause of the pain, and was
able to treat it. What is extraordinary,
however, was how Delgado’s office
delivered both treatment of the medical
need and world-class customer service.
While this was my first visit to this doctor’s office, it surely won’t be my last.
Throughout my entire experience,
Delgado’s office provided the care above
and beyond expectations. From the
moment I walked into the door, everyone was very pleasant and understanding. At one point during my procedure, I
had to wait for a couple of hours before
the doctor could proceed. The dental
assistants clearly saw how exhausted I
was from the sleepless night before and
prepared a private darkened room with
pillows and blankets for me to rest.
Further, they provided beverages and a snack while I waited. We can all learn
something from the way Delgado and his
staff take care of their customers. It’s a
level of customer service we don’t see
every day. I would like to see more companies delivering this kind of service day
in and day out.
Great customer service is the best
form of marketing that you can deliver.
Take care of every touch point to every
customer and your retention levels will
rise. You’ll also bring in more new
clients as your happy clients spread the
word to other potential customers.
Believe it or not, great customer service
is obtained by handling the details. It’s
all about the details. The endodontist got to the root of my pain, but it was the
way they handled the details that will
keep me coming back. From the
moment a customer walks into your
place of business, the experience
begins. Each of us can practice this in
our own lives and businesses.
Compare, contrast and dive into the
little things you can improve for your
customers. The best way to know what
your customer wants is to simply ask
them. Survey your customers over a
period of two weeks, and have them
rate your service. Actively solicit suggestions — how can we make your
experience better? Mystery shop your
competition to find out how you can
stand out from the crowd and offer not
just competitive, but phenomenal customer service.
Have a customer service check-up with
your staff. Look at it this way: if you
insist on your staff providing great customer service, you will more than likely
be able to spend less on advertising.
Word of mouth is a major component in
advertising for any company. People are
very quick to tell you about their bad
experiences with a company, and will
always recommend great places as a
result from a good experience.
Surely I’m not recommending
Delgado’s office as a hotel or a restaurant, but it definitely is a great place to
have a root canal.
MALCOLM A. TEASDALE is the principal and “Big Idea
Catalyst” of Teasdale Worldwide, a strategic marketing
firm headquartered in Tampa, Fla. Reach him at
[email protected]. To obtain more information
about upcoming events and possible event sponsorship,
visit www.MarketingofDistinction.com. You may also e-mail
Kathi Kasel at [email protected] or call
(813) 868-1520. To view additional articles, register at
www.MalcolmOutLoud.com.