And I'll tell everyone who will listen. And then they'll tell everyone who will listen. And it quickly goes viral. Here's what made me write this:
A few weeks ago a co-worker and I ate lunch at a place that has a buffet. We like their food in general and like the idea that it's a buffet, so supposedly no waiting will be involved. We hate the fact that they never seem to have much ready on the buffet. As we were being seated, I mentioned to her that it would be good if they had more ready. I also asked the server to prepare a to-go order for my boss. A few minutes later she came to our table and berated me for the comment I had made to my friend and said that they only take 20 minutes to prepare more food. I told her that defeats the purpose of a buffet. We only had 40 minutes, that's why we came to a place with a buffet. She made another snippy comment and flounced away without taking our drink order. We had to call it to her as she stormed by again. Near the end of our lunch she came by and tossed my boss's lunch on the table and said that we probably wouldn't be able to get it again as it's not on the menu. If she had said that when I asked for it, I'd have ordered something else. All in all, horrendous service. I asked if the manager/owner was in and she said she'd be in at 3 and I could call her then. She obviously wasn't at all concerned with our dissatisfaction.
When I called back, the owner said the server had told her what happened and defended her as her best employee. I hadn't even told her my concern yet. I told her that we used to like going there for lunch, but if that was going to continue to be what we could expect, we'd go elsewhere. She did not care.
A few days ago a patient came in and told us that he had eaten there and his food was somewhat burned. It had happened before and he'd mentioned it to the server. When the server came over and asked how their food was on this day, he said that it was burned. She took his name and number and said the owner would call. Well, the owner did call and left a message on his machine informing him that since he'd complained twice, she was banning him from the restaurant. He was no longer welcome to come and pay for burned food.
Now, think about it. The patient bothered to mention this incident to his hygienist during a recall visit. This is a small town. She immediately told me about it because of our previous experience. This patient is an extremely nice man. The combination of such rude treatment and such a nice man makes it twice as bad. There are six of us in the office who will now never eat at this restaurant again. We will probably mention it to anyone who brings up the place. God only knows how many people our patient has mentioned it to if he's telling his hygienist.
What it comes down to is this, people want to feel good about themselves. The way others treat us influences our feelings about ourselves or about them. Treat a patron badly and they might eventually forgive you, but they'll rarely forget or trust you again. Treat them badly and don't extend an apology and they are going to talk because they want reassurance that they did nothing wrong and confirmation that yes, you were treated horribly.
Bad news travels faster than good news when it occurs in dental practices. Think about it, if you promise to treat your patients well, make it your "thing", and consistently deliver great service. Patients expect nothing less and become accustomed to it. It's not news anymore and they don't leave and tell their friends, "Oh, you can't believe what a great dental visit I just had!". But, when someone asks for the name of a good dentist, they'll rave about you. So good gets less press, but it gets referrals, so keep it up. Give a patient poor, unkind, or uncaring treatment however, and you are in for it. They will tell the first person they see after the visit. Someone calls them on the phone, they will get an earful, even if the patient remains a patient and comes back, they've still panned you to at least 5 people. Those 5 will never give you a chance. You can't afford to chalk it up to a bad day, bad news, cramps or a sick family member. You have to deliver good, caring treatment. If you can't put whatever is bugging you aside, then you really should stay home. Nothing destroys a business or practice faster that bad word of mouth that quickly goes viral.
It's too bad for the restaurant. It's got a lot of good things going for it, but the bad outweighs that. I doubt that they will turn it around and that's a shame. No one opens a business intending to fail. That's not enough though. You have to have a vision for how to succeed and this place missed that step. Make sure that you have your vision firmly in place and consistently followed.
Listen to your patients and follow up on their concerns, don't just dismiss them. If a problem occurs, deal with it appropriately. It may just be a misunderstanding so follow through to a win-win conclusion. You can guide the word of mouth if you care enough to listen to complaints and deal with them. I remember in grade school, hearing a teacher compare gossip to scattering the feathers from a pillow on a windy day. It's impossible to run around gathering them all back. Once it's out there, it's out of your grasp. It's the same with bad word of mouth, you can't undo the damage, so do everything you can to make sure the feathers that get out there are working for you, not against you.
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