In The Neck Of The Hourglass
The Role Of The Dental Receptionist In The Independent Sector
Written by: Chris Barrow
Chris Barrow is a trainer, consultant, coach and mentor with over 30 years' experience of working in the dental industry. Chris is dynamic, energetic and charismatic. He continually helps dental practices to innovate, change tack and push boundaries.
International Receptionists’ Day on 8th May 2019 is intended to celebrate the role of the receptionist in all business sectors. I reflect on the role of the dental receptionist in the modern independent marketplace with a story from 1988 and set in a very different business environment.
Back in the late 80’s I was what would nowadays be called an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA), running my own business and providing fee-based financial planning advice to small business owners.My accountant then (and friend even now) was Will Kintish, who at that time was a partner in a Manchester City Centre practice (Will has since created his own successful business teaching owners how to network). My office was based out of town and I regularly used to call Will to discuss my own financial affairs and those of my clients (we are 3 years ahead of the internet at the time of this story – the telephone was how we communicated). The receptionist at Will’s office (let’s call her Julie) was an absolute star. Nothing was ever too much trouble; the sun was always shining in Julie’s life and it was evidenced by the tonality of her voice and the attitude with which she handled all my calls. Julie also seemed to have an uncanny knack of remembering things about me, even when there were time gaps between calls:
“Morning Mr. Barrow, if you just hold on a moment, I’ll see if Will is available to take your call – how was your holiday to Italy? Did you and the family have a lovely time?”
Almost three years after I hired Will as my accountant, I had occasion to travel in to his offices for a meeting and entered the reception area to meet Julie for the first time. After shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries, Will came down to reception to greet me and asked, “have you met Julie properly?” I replied in the affirmative and went on to publicly praise her in front of Will and others within earshot, describing her as “the best receptionist I have ever met.” Will raised his finger to ask me to pause and replied, “thanks for the lovely feedback Chris, but receptionist isn’t her job.” My puzzled expression prompted him to turn to the front desk and ask, “Julie, do you have a copy of your job description that you could show Mr. Barrow?” She smiled, reached into her desk drawer and passed to me a document – on the cover of which I read the words:
"MANAGING DIRECTOR OF FIRST IMPRESSIONS"
It’s a moment that I have never forgotten (and here I am telling you over 30 years later). There is absolutely no doubt that Julie was in charge of that first impression, whether on the telephone or face to face and equally no doubt that she excelled in the role and that her employers had a refreshing view of customer service.
So now we fast forward to 2019 – the internet is 28 years old, social media 15 years old and the iPhone 12 years old – a very different world from Manchester in ’88 – so has that changed the job description? If Julie were working now (I wonder where she is?) would the title on the page read differently? I think not. What has changed is the varied channels that people can use to communicate with us. What hasn’t changed one bit is the first impression that can be made by the first real person in a business with whom I communicate. In fact, no amount of clever social media posting, glitzy web site presentation or online booking and live chat can replace a sensitive and appreciative conversation between two human beings. There’s an old saying that you should recruit on attitude and train on skill. The founder of the Four Seasons Hotel Group, Isadore Sharp, famously suggested that “you cannot train people in customer service, it’s the way they are brought up.” I have no doubt that the skill set of the 2019 receptionist is considerably more challenging that they of the 80’s equivalent. The switchboard has been replaced by multi-broadcast digital channels and it’s now necessary to be tech-savvy if you are to operate a modern telephone system, respond to digital communications and master practice-management software.
Additionally, the modern dental receptionist may well have to answer a far wider range of enquiries and questions than was the case even 15 years ago – it’s no longer just about running an effective recall system and dealing with emergencies. Having said that, the social skills are still the most important, from the perspective of the majority of patients. I recently had some feedback from a Practice Manager (following a team training session on site) that took me by surprise and caused a pause for thought. The PM emailed me a few days after my visit to report that the receptionist in the practice had been intimidated by my observation that “she was the most important person in the team.” Let me enlarge on what I actually said. I asked all the team members present to imagine an hour glass, with sand running from the top, through the neck and into the bottom. Then I explained:
“In the top of the hour glass is all the effort and expense that the practice invests in marketing to new patients – the web site, advertising, literature and recommendations from existing patients. In the bottom of the hour glass is all the dentistry that will be delivered for the lifetime of the patient, from preventative maintenance to items of treatment. In the neck of the hour glass is the front desk team, answering communications digitally, answering the phone and greeting visitors. Everyone has to pass through the neck of the hour glass – and so the skills and attitude of the front desk team are an essential part of every patient’s journey. Hence I think they are the most important players in the team.”
I don’t wish to dilute the importance of any other role in the practice – simply to emphasise that the front desk role has become MORE important as the years have passed by. It seems that the individual to whom I made these comments during my practice visit was quite overwhelmed by them and expressed her concerns to the PM the next day that she felt very pressured by the responsibility. So be it.
I’ve had the good fortune to work with many excellent receptionists during my 22 years in dental consultancy and I’m equally pleased to say that, although I don’t train receptionists, I know there are others who do so exceptional well. There is plenty of good advice out there. In spite of the digital revolution, there are some things that never change, and the inter-personal skills of a good dental receptionist are an eternal factor that will separate the wheat from the chaff. On International Receptionists Day, I fondly remember Julie from all those years ago and salute those who have carried her caring attitude into the modern age.
