During my career in practice, of the most crucial elements that was drummed into me from the start was the importance of customer service.
Visiting the opticians, with its unique combination of medical and retail, is like no other experience for patients or customers. This couples with the fact that most patients will visit every one or two years, thus raising the importance of the adage that ‘you only have one chance to make a first impression’.
Mess this one up and you may have to wait a couple of years before you get the opportunity to put things right; assuming that your less than happy patient hasn’t decided to seek their eye care elsewhere. This being the case, it is likely that they have told or mentioned their unhappy experience between 10 and 20 times in conversations with friends, family, and colleagues.
So, it is well worth building into your practice key measurements of patient happiness and to keep improving your patient experience based on feedback from your patients and your team. To continually impress and delight your patients, each visit must equal or exceed their expectations. Moreover, what may have ‘wowed’ them last time will now simply be an expectation, hence the need for a continuous cycle of feedback and improvement.
The personal and intricate process and attention to detail that is required for a successful visit to the optical practice offers the opportunity to achieve such elevated levels of satisfaction. The visit is an chance for you to showcase your expertise, demonstrate your personalised attention to that patient and in the process exhibit exceptional customer service.
Expertise and Knowledge
One of the hallmarks of outstanding customer service, is the way in which we explain and demonstrate our expertise and knowledge. Patients do not generally know what we are up to and the way in which we explain what we are doing and guide the patient through the experience (or not) will define the impression the patient leaves with.
The level of knowledge you display will build trust and help your patients to accept your recommendations and advice, hence creating the sense of trust and credibility that will elevate you in the eyes of the patient and further boost the overall experience. Patients and customers highly value the opportunity to learn and engage with knowledgeable staff, which fosters a lasting connection between them and the business.
Personalised Service
The unique experience of visiting an eye care practitioner allows strong trust to build due to the close, one-to-one contact the patent has. Patients can feel intimidated by this closeness and making the patient feel at ease is one of the most crucial roles of the practice team. The team as a whole need to take the time to understand patients’ preferences, guiding them through what may seem a confusing array of choices and options.
Focusing on the personalised approach demonstrates a genuine commitment to customer satisfaction. As well as helping the patient understand the process, it allows for tailored recommendations, creating a sense of exclusivity and making customers feel valued.
Customisation
This personalisation of the experience segues us perfectly into another important facet of exemplary customer service, which is the ability to demonstrate and offer a range of suitable options to solve patients’ unique problems.
Every patient has their own unique lifestyle and fitting any eye correction solution in a personalised way, requires the practice team to fully understand this, so that they can customise the products to cater for the individual.
Presenting a variety of options and talking them through will ensure the patient leaves knowing they will receive products that will match their specific preferences and solve their unique problems.
This customisation, when carried out in a genuine way, will result in a truly personalised and memorable encounter for the patient. By catering to their individual tastes and preferences, you will have used their visit to demonstrate the essence of a highly customer-centric service.
Overall Experience
The ultimate goal of exceptional customer service is to provide a memorable experience, which goes beyond the mere transaction or provision of the service. The ambience, professionalism, friendliness, and total focus on that individual will create patients for life, raving fans who will recommend you to their peers and revisit you repeatedly for years.
- Until next month feel free to message me at mentoris58@gmail.com.