S4 Episode 2: How We start our Day in phones

In this episode of Inside Dentistry Support, the focus is on the crucial role the phones team plays in dental practices. They are the frontline, responsible for confirming appointments, managing schedules, and addressing patient inquiries. Effective communication, from minimizing hold times to empathetic responses, is highlighted as essential for patient satisfaction. The episode discusses the importance of prompt and clear communication, proper information collection, and maintaining a professional and composed demeanor even when dealing with frustrated patients. Metrics for success include appointment scheduling rates and the significance of proactive team engagement and cooperation.

Transcript

  📍  Hey team. Welcome back to Inside Dentistry Support. You are listening to season four, episode two, and today I'm talking to you, our phones team. You are the frontline voices of every dental practice we serve. You are the first. Hello. You are the calm in the chaos, and let's be real. You are the make or break or moment for many of our patient relationships.

This episode is all about what it means to communicate effectively from tone to timing, to the way we partner with each other and our offices. So let's get right into it. If you are on this team, you are not just answering phones. You are confirming appointments, managing a hygiene schedule, speaking with insurance patients who call back to provide that information.

You're answering questions about treatment, hours, emergencies, and most importantly, you are the human on the other end of the line. And when we do this right, we make patients feel safe, heard, taken care of, and that's the goal. Every single call. That's the goal. Let's talk numbers for a second. Did you know that when a patient is on hold every seven seconds feels like one full minute to them?

Kind of seems dramatic, right? That's not a guess. That's psychology. So if they're on hold for a minute, that feels like nearly 10 minutes to their nervous brain. And that means that we never leave someone on hold unless it is absolutely necessary if you do communicate. I'm gonna check on that real quick.

Do you mind holding for a brief moment? I promise I'll come back and check on you. And before even doing that, Sarah Beth, can I please have your phone number? I just wanna make sure that if we happen to get disconnected I can call you right back. If you notice it's been 30 seconds that they've been on hold, come back, update them, let them know you are still working on it.

Three days ago I was on the phone with a customer service rep. There was no hold music, so when I was put on hold, I didn't hear anything. I actually forgot that I was at on hold. I had left where I was at. My phone was sitting there on the counter.

I went to go let my dog outside. I came back. I looked at my phone and it said I'd been on the phone for 24 minutes. There was no sound and I didn't really know if anyone was still with me. Three minutes later, so a total of 27 minutes, someone comes back on the phone. Thank you so much for waiting. I was able to get that resolved for you.

That's insane. If you can't find the answer right away, offer a call back with a specific time. Don't make someone wait on hold. Don't do that. If you can get the problem resolved in two or three minutes, fabulous communication. It buys peace, but silence, it builds frustration. We have many metrics at dentistry support.

And if you are part of our phones team that calls outbound to schedule appointments for patients, you are someone who earns a commission in your role. And because of that commission that you earn, you are measured on your success rate. Now, we don't just pay commission to pay commission, you are only paid a commission.

When you schedule an appointment for the patient and they show up, you need to fill their schedule. That's what you're here for. And when they do, you'll earn a specific commission that's later communicated with you from our administrative team. Now, the goal for you is that you would have an 80% success rate when it comes to scheduling patients who actually show up.

So for every 10 patients you schedule eight of them absolutely have to show up. For every 10 calls you make, you have to schedule at least four of those patients. You must have a 40% success rate on calls outbound. So if you call a hundred people, you should have scheduled 40 appointments. 

We don't just book anyone. We don't just call anyone. We do this job with intentionality. We make sure they can be there. We use strong confirmation language, like we're looking forward to seeing you on Thursday at 10:00 AM. We read cues. If they seem hesitant, if they ask questions, find a better time, find a better solution.

Get the patient on the schedule. Do what's right for them and be thorough. Don't just book that appointment. Ask if they have any other issues, if they have any pain, swelling, or discomfort in their mouth that the doctor should be aware of before their appointment. Make sure their insurance is still the same if it isn't, get new insurance information.

Always get the name of the insurance company, date of birth and ID number of the subscriber. Get the phone number for the insurance company and any group number or group name. Follow the best practices. It's not just about filling up an office schedule. It's about making sure that your patient has the best experience when they walk in the office.

It's about making sure that your patient isn't scheduling an appointment, and then they're going to be irritated later because you didn't get all the information you needed and now their appointment is incomplete. We work with intention. We work from a place of confidence. You know, every now and then a patient is gonna be upset, right?

You might answer calls today and find one of those very patients. Maybe they were charged a fee. Maybe they have a balance they didn't know about. Maybe they're in pain, maybe they're just frustrated because they had a long day. But a rule here at Dentistry Support is that no matter how you start your day, we never start it with the intent that we take it personally, start being the calm.

No matter what, someone responds to understand them. In fact, say the words, I understand where you're coming from. Offer direction. Let me find out how we can fix this. Stay grounded. Don't raise your voice. Don't match their tone. Don't get defensive. If the call needs to be escalated.

Communicate that gently. Let me have someone from our billing or management team give you a call back to help resolve this. You are not a punching bag. You are the peacekeeper and you're never alone. We are a team, and we support each other in difficult conversations, and the office needs to be aware if patients are upset.

We are here to help them, but we can't solve every problem for every patient, for every office, and we know that. So sometimes you do need to get the office involved but do your very best to communicate well. Starting the day right in our phones team means that you check in with your team on Microsoft Teams.

Say good morning, be visible. We are a virtual team and the only way we know you're here is if you say that you're here. If you say hi, check in with your assigned offices. Are there any updates, confirmations that need handling appointments, that need rescheduling appointments, that need to be filled? Did your office have questions?

Did a patient call and leave a message, and you need to return that call? Get familiar with today's schedule. Are there hygiene openings? Is there room to reappoint someone or move people around so the practice can have a better functioning practice? Communicate with your office. Tag them. Ask if they need a push in hygiene.

Offer to make calls or send confirmations. Bring positive energy. Remember, the patient doesn't know what kind of day you've had. They only know how you made them feel. At dentistry support, our phones team is so much more than just a call center. We are the voice of calm, clarity, and care. And when we communicate well, our clients thrive, our patients stay, and our schedules stay full.

So today I want you to remember, speak clearly, speak slowly, respond quickly. Communicate often. Check in with your team, your dental office. Make sure your recaps are done every day, and you watch our metrics. There are specific metrics for your specific office on calls you need to answer and tasks you need to do.

Know them, check in with your office, check their wiki page, which is their standard operating procedures for how they want their office handled that we collected during onboarding. Treat every caller like the most important person of your day because to them you are, you've got this. We are here with you every ring, every appointment, every single day.

I'll 📍 catch you guys on the next episode.