I changed to a new general practitioner to better meet my needs. The doctor I chose was new to the area. During the initial consultation, we discussed not only myself but also expectations and thoughts. Once I became her patient, I was encouraged even more with her office policy regarding her telephone calls.
In her outgoing telephone message was the usual “if this is a medical emergency, hang up and dial 911”. However, the message continued with “if you need to speak with the doctor, call (and then she gave a telephone number)”. Knowing that if there were a problem less than a medical emergency and more than what could wait until the next business day, she would answer. Of the three plus years, I had the need to place a call once, and she answered the telephone and resolved the problem.
Her practice has grown because of how her patients are treated. It is no longer a telephone call to the receptionist/assistant, to be able to see the doctor the same morning or afternoon. It appears that success has brought some changes. Another change was when my wife placed a call to her office after hours, as there was a medical urgency. The outgoing message had changed, she eliminated the “if need to speak with the doctor”.
This made me think about how most locksmiths would bend over backwards when we first started our businesses. You know, night calls, weekends, special treatment for customers. The additional services and work pays off as your business grows.
However, with human nature, we can become lax in the way we treat our customers and with some, how work is accomplished. This unfortunately is not a good thing.
Take some time and think about it, do you still provide your customers with the same service quality as you did when you first started in business? If a customer calls and truly needs something extra do you want to help them? There are many ways we can grow our businesses up and down. Which way are you growing?
