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Wired for Success: The Customer Service Game by Alan A. Curtis, DDS, MS, Editorial Director, Orthotown Magazine

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The Customer Service Game

by Alan A. Curtis, DDS, MS, Editorial Director, Orthotown Magazine

In a previous column I discussed monitoring your phone lines to see how well your staff is handling the steady stream of phone calls from prospective orthodontic patients. I was shocked to see how often patients were turned away by negative responses to their inquiries. These patients were trying to find an office to pay to receive services that they were in need of purchasing. They had money in their pocket and were looking for someone to give it to in exchange for the services they were looking for – straight teeth!

Patients often use the phone to find an office that meets their needs. Unfortunately, some staff members feel that it is their job to screen each phone call to see if the caller is a right fit for the practice. Even worse is the staff member who feels that their job is to strictly answer every question that the caller asks as though they were manning an information booth at the local airport.

As I struggled to come up with a clever way of training my team to handle difficult situations, I read a few books on the subject (Good to Great, Raving Fans) and listened to some AAO lectures (John McGill, Roger Levin). I came up with the following game: The Customer Service Game.

Try it at your next office meeting – it’s fun!

The Questions

Write a number of questions commonly asked by your patients and/or employees for which the natural response is “no.” Examples: Do you accept my insurance (HMO)? Do you have office hours on Sunday? Will you accept a competitors’ pricing? Do you offer X (manufacturer) braces? Can I get my braces in January with no money down and pay my first payment in a few months? Does Dr. Curtis do root canals? Can I get another raise? Can I borrow $1,000? Can we wear shorts to work? My daughter is sick and I don’t have childcare, can she come to work with me today?

The key is to remain positive even when the obvious answer is “no.” Think about the last time you were with a group at lunch ordering soft drinks. The restaurant only sells Pepsi products and someone orders a Diet Coke. How would it be if the waitress said “We don’t sell that here” rather than “Is Diet Pepsi OK?” as she writes Diet Pepsi on her note pad.

The Rules

The instant the employee states any word that is negative, they lose! Examples include: No, not, unfortunately, can’t, don’t, I’m sorry, etc. Rather the employee should work as hard as he or she can to state the offerings of the office in a positive, energetic way. Words such as glad, happy, proud, enjoy, excited, used in conjunction with “what you can do…” all lead to positive, energetic outcomes. It is better not to say anything rather than say something negative. Example: Do you offer appointments on Saturday? Answer: We are proud to offer appointments five days a week with appointments available before and after work/school for your convenience. Stop there! Don’t finish the thought… we don’t offer appointments on Saturday… blah, blah, blah!

The Goal

The ultimate goal for your staff is to have a successful outcome with the interaction. Depending on the situation, a successful outcome might be a prospective patient scheduling a new patient exam or getting the persnickety mom to accept an appointment during school hours (heaven forbid). It is important to note that the interests of the patient/caller may be entirely different than that of the office. The staff member may be trying to sell that appointment in the middle of the day while the patient wants to come in 20 minutes after schools gets out, because that is the convenient time to come in. Customer service is not about getting the patient to like you or your staff. You want them to have a good experience at your office, so look for every opportunity to say “yes” and go out of your way to impress the patient with the hospitality and excellence you and your team provide.

It is very important not to ever lie. The employee’s job is to make the practice look as amazing as possible, talking up the positive and down playing the negatives. When the employee hides behind the office policy they are forgetting that they are the official representative empowered to provide the best orthodontic experience.

Some members of your team will be naturally amazing at the customer service game while others have a size six shoe firmly wedged interocclusally. The goal of the game is to increase awareness of power positivity vs. quick negativity – taking bad employees to good and good employees to greatness. Try the customer service game at your next office meeting! You’ll be glad you did. Remember, sometimes it’s best to fight with a smile on your face. Share your experience with the customer service game online at Orthotown.com.
Orthotown Magazine
September 2025
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