Treating Patients Like Royalty

Hi, this is Dave Kats with Therapist Consultants and I have a tip for you.

I’m always amazed how the medical profession treats the people that are wealthy. They cater to them in a special way. I had an opportunity several years ago, to spend a lot of time with the plastic surgeons in Beverly Hills and in Hollywood, and it’s amazing how they treated their patients. They treated their patients like royalty. When the patient came in they were greeted by name. They were whisked off into a private reception area. They were asked if they wanted coffee, or juice, or water, whatever they wanted and they were catered to in every way. They were treated like royalty. Now, my old dentist treated me like royalty too. Whenever I came in the staff greeted me by saying, “Hi, Dr. Kats.” Not David or just a grunt or something like that, and I rarely if ever waited at that dentist’s office. He would saw me right away, it was a professional experience. They kept my credit card on file so I didn’t have to stop and pay on the way out, and it was just a very pleasant experience. Then I moved and I had to find a new dentist. The new dentist I go to, they hardly recognize you. You sit in the reception area for a long time, then they come and yell your name out at the front door, like they don’t know who you are. They escort you to the back without talking to you and say, “Have a seat right here.” You wait forever on the dentist, when the dentist comes in he’s preoccupied with things that are going on in his life and that’s all he wants to talk about, and you’re certainly not treated like royalty. Right now, I’m in the process of looking for a new dentist. Now, my question to you is, “Can’t we treat people like royalty too?” See, it takes very little more to treat people like royalty. Really, it’s an attitude more than money. When people come into our office, they're greeted in person. We use a first name because of HIPPA compliance rules right now, but they're greeted immediately by first name. We have a large screen TV on the wall playing a G-rated movie, or we have quiet music playing. We have a gourmet coffee stand in the corner that they can use. We have leather chairs. It’s a pleasant place. They are greeted quickly by their therapist, who escorts them to the back in a nice quiet, roomy area, and they have their therapy at that way. Can’t we do the same thing for our patients, treat them as royalty? I'd like you to sit down and think about five things that you could do to improve your service to the patients as far as making them feel like royalty. I think if you make them feel like royalty, they will refer a lot more patients to you and they will stay with you a lot longer. Stop right now and write down the five things you can do to make people feel like royalty in your practice.

Thanks for being with me.