In this interconnected day and age bad reviews can break a practice. No one wants to go to the dentist who made a patient “wait 30 minutes for an appointment” or “rushed me out the door.”
So, make sure you’re aware of what often triggers bad reviews—and then work to give patients a positive experience instead.
- Keep your schedule moving
Unless a wait is truly unavoidable (perhaps a young patient proved more difficult to work with than originally imagined) keep your schedule booked realistically so that it flows from patient to patient without panic or bottlenecks. An appointment that starts right on time starts well. - Don’t let patients feel office stress
Patients can feel the mood of your office. So even though you may be overwhelmed with work don’t make patients feel like one more issue you need to deal with. They chose you for their dental care among many options—so treat them with respect and kindness. - Remember patients are always listening
Just because a patients sits down in the waiting room or is left for a moment during their appointment, doesn’t mean they’re not paying attention. Make sure to keep conversations professional and pleasant. Office drama or off-color humor can annoy or disrespect patients. - Let patients vent to you
If a patient wasn’t happy with some or all of their appointment let them vent to you. If you simply brush them off they’ll go complain somewhere else. It’s much better to apologize in person and diffuse any hard feelings than deal with the bad PR later.
