The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
James and The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl.
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker.
What do these books, and hundreds of others have in common?
True, they are all classics. And yes, you may have been forced to read them.
But believe it or not, all of these great novels have been banned at one time or another.
As you may know, we are not big fans of censorship, or even strict rules and policies – especially when it comes to your dental practice.
However, there is one word that we would like you to ban completely from your office, both in the written and verbal form. That word?
Cancellation.
A short time ago we were observing in someone’s office and heard this phrase:
“We don’t have anything for you next week, but don’t worry – we ALWAYS get cancellations!”
Yikes! Why would anyone even insinuate to a patient that a cancellation is okay?
Cancel Cancellations
When you make confirmation calls, do you give the option to cancel? We hope not. As a matter of fact, why even use the word “confirmation?” That still gives the patient a little bit of an out.
Here’s our suggested verbiage for what was formerly known as the confirmation call:
“Hello, Mrs. Jones? This is Emily from Dr. Sumner’s office. We’re looking forward to seeing you this Friday at 11:00 AM.”
That’s it. Nothing about if you need to change it, if you have any questions, etc.. Short, simple, sweet and positive is the way to go.
And that goes for signs in the reception area and text on your website and cards that say something like:
“If you need to cancel, kindly give 48 hours notice.”
What does that mean? It means that if you cancel 48 hours and one minute before your appointment, that is fine. But it’s not fine!! Do you really want to give a patient permission to do that?
So try it. It works! Get the word “cancellation” the heck out of your vocabulary!!
Meet the Madow Brothers
Dr. David Madow
Influencer, Speaker, Author & Coach at The David Madow Lifestyle Show + Co-founder of The Madow Center for Dental Practice Success.
Dr. Richard Madow
International Keynote Speaker, Author, Award Winning Musician & Composer, Coach and Co-founder of The Madow Center for Dental Practice Success.
