I Love It When It Happens To Me!
I love it when I have an excellent experience with a quality business. The rules for what makes a business a cut above are pretty simple: consistency, congruency, chemistry, integrity and accountability.
Recently I had an experience with a dentist that deserves mention. I have a strong aversion to the dentist! I suppose it comes from poor treatment in the past combined with the unpleasant thought of sitting helplessly in a chair while some masked stranger inflicts pain on me with stainless steel tools originally designed for torture. I would sooner brush and floss my teeth 6 times a day than go to the dentist.
It has been about 2.5 years since I was last at the dentist. My wife gave me a referral to the dentist that the rest of the family has been seeing. She raved about the fact that this dentist had a knack for making people feel comfortable and well looked after. Her parting comment had something to do with how I would not find anything wrong with the service I received.
So I made my appointment. Two days before the appointed day I received a pleasant confirmation call. When I showed up in the office I was given the standard questionnaire to fill in but this one was different. It asked me about my interests, who had referred me, and how many people were in my family (if I had one). I also had some nice comments about my children from the receptionist who even knew their names.
With a minimal wait I was ushered into ‘the chair’ where my torture session would begin. To my surprise there was a flat screen monitor right in my eye view. It had been changed to ESPN, a safe bet since I am male. At this point my dental aversion started to melt without even knowing it.
While I was being hypnotized by ESPN the dentist showed up and built some rapport, outlined her process for dealing with a patient, gave me a once over and turned me over to the hygienist. The dentist promised me a patient treatment outline which was an excellent accountability document.. She said it would be sent to me by mail within 10 business days. It showed up in 6. On the FORM front the hygienist and dentist both knew the names of my children and made some favorable comments about them. The dentist even remembered that my daughter loves to play soccer.
The kicker came 10 days after my appointment. My wife received a hand addressed, handwritten note from the dentist thanking her for referring me to her. I was blown away. This dentist had taken a page right out of my play book.
This experience is an example for any business. The end result, I have referred this dentist to 5 people in the last 6 weeks. Good news travels fast. This dentist lived up to her billing as a service expert. Her office ran like a top and my dentist aversion has been turned into a full commitment to the value of a good dentist. I LOVE IT WHEN IT HAPPENS TO ME!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Tom Frisby, Business Coach, BC