Not just appointment reminders.

By: Ashleigh

In the old days (3 years ago), we called and sent postcards to patients to remind them of upcoming appointments.  Although most patients made it to appointments, we found that there were days that people would, gasp, FORGET!  How do you forget a day of fun like going to the dentist?!  Okay, okay...I know that some people do not think of it that way.

We understand the occasional missed appointment, but then it was happening more and more.  This was a problem.  Open chair time is not good for a small business.  So, Dr. Jones and I researched how we may be able to update our communication reminders to our patients and came across a company called Demandforce.

Not only would they email and text patients to remind them of their appointment, but we could also let patients know about promotions and get feedback in the forms of surveys and reviews.  

Opening yourself to receive information like that can be scary.  What do our patients really think of us?!  With Demandforce, we are unable to simply delete bad reviews.  All reviews will be posted (unless vulgar language is used).  Then the first review and survey came in...

     "Alison Jones is like family to us, even though we see her at teeth cleanings and fillings.  She is so kind and easy going.  When I walk in the office she is there smiling and asking about my family and life.  During appointments she asks often how I am doing and will even stop a procedure and wait while I go to the bathroom.  Alison Jones is just a real good person who happens to fix my teeth."

When we read this, we got those warm fuzzy feelings and were happy.  This patient expressed exactly how we try to run the practice.  Yes, we are a business and a dentist office, but we really do care.  For real, we care.  It is important to us that our patients do not feel like just a person that needs a filling, or a tooth cleaning.  We love to hear what is happening in our patient's lives!

Although we signed up with Demandforce to just to remind people to come in to see us, we now have an inside look as to how patients really feel about us.  Those surveys and reviews remind us to keep on our path of not doing just great dentistry, but to treat each patient as a cared-for individual.

Thank you for coming in to see us.  Thank you for sharing your stories.  Thank you for taking time to let us know how we are doing.