Proper Phone Etiquette For Your Front Office Staff

Besides visiting your website, a prospective patient’s first interaction with your office will most likely be through a phone call. Because of this, teaching your staff proper phone etiquette skills is very important. You want to make sure your employees make a great first impression, making your patients feel welcome.

Phone Etiquette Skills

• Greeting – Your potential patients will have an impression of your office as soon as your staff speaks into the phone. Because of this, calls should be answered quickly and greeted warmly. Make sure your staff has a greeting script, such as “Good afternoon! This is Jane at XYZ Dental, how may I help you?” This is a friendly and direct greeting.
• Questions – Next, your staff can begin gathering information about the new patient. This is a great time for your employees to bond with the patients and make them feel comfortable. Discover if the patient is new or existing and if the appointment is for a dental emergency or for a cleaning and exam.
• Scheduling – When scheduling an appointment, make sure your staff is more direct than simply asking when the patient would like to come in. Instead, have them ask specifics, such as “Dr. Smith has time available on Tuesday and Friday of next week, which day would you like?” This makes it more likely that a patient will commit to an appointment.
• Reminders – Lastly, make sure you have a system in place for reminding patients of their appointments. Set time aside each day for your staff to contact patients a day or two before their scheduled time. This will help you decrease the number of patients who don’t show up.

Teaching and discussing these tips with your staff can help bring in new patients and keep them happy. For help training your staff or for any other dental consulting needs, please contact CTC Associates today.