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Don’t miss opportunities to improve service
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by Agustin L. Gonzalez, OD, FAAO, ABCMO
There is nothing more competitive than the restaurant business, and we can all learn something from it.
My culinary-trained son always tells me that a good maître d', or as they say in the kitchen lingo, “front of the house manager,” judges a waiter's performance by evaluating the amount of “missed opportunities.”
The waiter is the one fundamental link between your food and your experience. Simple things performed in ordinary ways are not memorable, but when done or communicated in an extraordinary way, they create a superior experience. Similarly, simple things overlooked can be the start of a disaster.
In the restaurant business everything matters, from the appearance and cleanliness of the outside of the building to the name that signals what type of food is being served. These are all powerful messages sent to those who have not yet been served. Once you walk in you notice what the staff looks like; it is all part of the overall first impression that will guide your dining experience.
Take a critical look at the outside of your practice and the message patients get before they walk in the door. Determine if this message might be the first missed opportunity.
Gustavo (my son) often cites having to ask for a water refill as the best example of a missed opportunity in excellent service. A good waiter will fill the water upon request; an excellent waiter will be able to anticipate much of the patron's needs, even the water service. It is the case of simple things done right to create an extraordinary impression. Higher-rated restaurants may take this even further and have a dedicated water service to watch over this rather trivial detail.
This concept of missed opportunity can translate to any business, including health care and optometry. As an industry consultant, I have visited many practices in many states. Some are trendy and nice and others are more traditional, but one thing successful practices have in common is that they seek to be engaged in a forward-looking manner. They are all successful in limiting the amount of missed opportunities. Many of these practices share the same leadership style, just like the critical maître d; they all have the notion of not letting a missed opportunity go by.
From external advertising to product adoption to diagnostic procedures to equipment and, especially, communicating in a very clear manner what the office offers, most successful practices interact with patients before their needs arise (optical, vision or medical). From effective scheduling to scripting messages, these types of offices try to minimize the amount of missed opportunities and, in doing so, they create a better experience that translates into better business.
My point is this: The next time you go to a restaurant, be observant and learn from the server and the water service. Is your office the one that anticipates and communicates your patients’ needs or the one that waits to react when called?
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Agustin L. Gonzalez, OD, FAAO, ABCMO, practices at Eye and Vision’s North Texas Center for Dry Eye and Ocular Surface Disease. He also founded a dry eye clinic in the North Texas area and has a special interest in cornea and external disease. Gonzalez is a member of the Primary Care Optometry News Editorial Board. He can be reached at: gonzalez.agu@gmail.com.
Disclosure: Gonzalez reports no relevant financial disclosures.