Yet this is the ideal time for customers to call. We’re talking about dental clinics, but many businesses are closed during lunch hours. Is it by habit, culture or lack of personnel that dental clinics close during lunch hours? When you think about it, this is the best time for customers to call their dental clinic. Normally, workers don’t call their dental clinic for an appointment during working hours because they have to work. This is also to respect their employer.
From the boss’s point of view, if employees manage all their personal appointments during office hours, it’s going to end up being a problem. Of course, telecommuting seems to have influenced these norms, and some employees can manage their personal diaries during working hours. But, generally speaking, employees have to manage their personal diaries during breaks and lunchtimes. Unfortunately, this is difficult in the evenings and on weekends, when most companies are closed. Especially professional companies.
Yet many dental clinics are closed at lunchtime. I asked some dental secretaries about this practice. It seems to have something to do with physically closing the clinic for lunch. It also seems to be a habit. Even though the clinic is closed for lunch, why aren’t we taking calls? It’s not that complicated.
Obviously, it can be difficult for a single dental secretary to eat at the same time as patients arrive on site. That’s understandable. However, it may make sense to take calls even if it’s lunchtime. Of course, the dental secretary has to be paid extra for her work.
Every time I give a lunchtime training session in a dental clinic, the phone rings. Current patient or new customer, no business can afford to miss calls. What’s more, a potential new customer will immediately call another dental clinic if there’s no immediate response, since the offer is both large and similar. On the other hand, the patient who’s on a break and can finally free himself up to book his appointment gets stuck on voicemail. And you know the worst part? If the clinic is lucky, the patient will leave a voicemail message (1 in 5 missed calls leaves a message), the secretary will pick it up later in the day if she manages to free herself, stop everything, transcribe the name and number to be called back on a post-it note, dial the number and if it’s right, “BANG” she’ll hit the patient’s answering machine! Why? Because this working patient can’t answer the phone! And yet, it’s normal.
Taking the ridiculous even further, the patient will take a break to listen to his messages and call the clinic. If he’s lucky, he’ll manage to speak to someone who can solve his problem. If not, he’ll have to call back or wait again for a call from the clinic outside his normal working hours. Remember, the average person works from 8am to 5pm. They call after 5pm or before 8am, when most dental clinics are closed.
We’ve finished talking about the problem, now let’s talk about the solution. Why not integrate text message communication into your business. Text messaging works 24-7, and the beauty of text messaging is that it’s asynchronous. That means everyone can respond at their own convenience. So, I call and there’s no answer, your answering machine texts me and tells me to specify my request by text message. I text my request and the secretary answers when she’s free. And that’s it! What’s more, you no longer have to take the time to stop everything you’re doing to listen to your voicemail and transcribe the name and number of a customer whose name and number you should already know on every call. No more transcriptions, errors or lost post-its! Imagine the number of forgotten follow-ups in your company. Virtual communication assistants allow you to dial in 1 click, transcribe your voice messages automatically and even save them in the customer’s file. You’ll always know the name of the customer calling you, and especially the name of the customer whose call you missed. What’s more, you can use text messaging to say you’re unavailable, and switch the customer’s call to text messaging to avoid running from one answering machine message to another.
Protect your secretaries and customer service agents, as well as your current and future customers, by ensuring an immediate 24-7 response, even when you’re away or unavailable. Switch from phone to text to ensure communication at everyone’s convenience, thanks to synchronicity!
