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Dr. Svetlana Fisher, OD |
Mary Helton, Fenton Eyecare |
Cary M. Silverman, MD |
In today’s economy where many are
struggling and continue to maintain a tight reign on their
purse strings, businesses are finding that they need to go
above and beyond to keep their customers happy—and keep
them coming back. The same is true of eyecare practices.
Patients have a lot of choice as to where they go and where
they spend their dollars. It may take exceptional service to
help keep them coming to you.
“Customer service goes beyond just
sales skill,” says Svetlana Fisher, OD, owner of
Optometric Specs Appeal in Los Angeles, who has long been
going above and beyond for her patients. “So many doctors
in the healthcare industry are caught up with diagnosing,
remedying, or even billing that they forget to connect with
their patients on a higher level. It is easy to forget that
although we run a medical practice, at the end of the day,
it’s still a business.”
Offering top-notch customer service can
be one of the best ways to compete in today’s competitive
marketplace. In fact, good customer service can even trump
price. That’s what Missouri-based Fenton Family Eyecare
has found. “Customer service has always been a number one
focus for us,” says office manager, Mary Helton. “And in
this economy, it’s the only way we can set ourselves
apart. We have a large optometry chain in our area and we
just can’t compete with their prices. But every customer
who has tried the chain comes to us complaining about their
lack of customer service. So we know how important customer
service is to maintaining customers—even in a bad economy.”
Helton says that the practice focuses on
personalizing each patient’s visit. They are able to give
that feeling of going above and beyond with a variety of
efforts that don’t take a lot of time or money but make a
difference to the patient. “We immediately greet everyone
the minute they walk in the door,” says Helton. “We try
to call everyone by name and offer various refreshments to
our customers while they wait. We change TV channels in the
waiting area for families or children. Overall, we try to
make the whole experience as personal as we can.”
A Variety of Efforts
There are many ways that eyecare
practices can make an effort to ensure each and every
patient feels special. For Optometric Specs Appeal, that has
meant running a bilingual office so that patients who don’t
speak English as their first language still feel comfortable
and welcome. Fisher strategically staffs associates who are
fluent in a second language in addition to possessing sales
and professional skills. “A bilingual office creates a
diverse dynamic among us all,” she says. “A bilingual
staff allows us to reach out to our patients faster and
relay messages more clearly. Sometimes we get older men and
women who can’t speak English well. We have to utilize
secondary languages to make sure they understand us. Doing
this also creates a sense of trust and loyalty.”
Discounts and good works are another way
to keep patients happy and Cary M. Silverman, MD, owner and
chief eye surgeon of Hanover, NJ-based EyeCare 20/20 has
found a way to combine the two. As an avid “giver”
himself, he rewards patients who make donations by offering
them discounts on out-of-pocket procedures. In one recent
fundraising effort, Silverman asked patients to donate $50
to charity in return for which he reduced the price of
bilateral LASIK by $1,000 as a thank-you.
Silverman has also helped many of his
patients in need. Extending a helping hand is not only a
good thing to do, it’s something that patients recognize
and appreciate. Once a year, Silverman offers a free
cataract surgery to patients without insurance or the means
to pay for the procedure. “We are able to partner with
other ophthalmologists, optometrists, drug companies,
equipment vendors, anesthesiologists, and internists who
provide medical clearance, and our surgical center, in order
to provide these services,” says Silverman.
Social Media Connection
Connecting with patients is also
important in offering excellent customer service. Fisher
says she started getting more involved with social media to
connect with her patients. And social media has also helped
her associates offer better customer service in the office
by freeing up their availability. “I used to have my staff
spend countless hours calling patients, leaving them
messages, and sometimes even emailing with no response,”
says Fisher. “Because of this, their time was spent off
the sales floor and away from the reception area. I quickly
learned that people are more inclined to check a ‘post’
or a ‘tweet’ before they listen to a voicemail.”
Silverman has also found social media to
be incredibly helpful in boosting his customer service. “Social
media is all about helping people and that has huge
implications for those of us in medical fields,” he says.
“Social media allows medical practices to serve as a
trusted resource for users—not just patients. By posting
breaking news or tips and information, inviting employees
and patients to national and local events, sharing exciting
or informative photos and videos, etc., we have the ability
to serve and connect more directly with our employees,
patients, and influencers in the medical world.”
The use of social media has also helped
Silverman to connect with more patients. “Social Media has
allowed me to have instant interaction with my patients,”
he says. “Although I do ensure legal boundaries remain
intact, EyeCare 20/20’s Facebook Page and my Twitter
account, @TheLASIKDoc, have served as direct lines of
communication between me and my patients. They can ask me
questions, share their own experiences, or find quick
updates posted from our blog to reduce time spent searching
online. Social media is a true resource for medical patients—not
just in terms of expert information, but peer reviews and
experiential information that is so much more real for
people. With the development of a highly-detailed and
personalized social media policy, it’s in the best
interest of a medical practice to allow multiple employees
have access to social media channels in helping to monitor
and post updates.”
Whether it’s using social media to
connect more personally, creating first-name relationships
with patients, or other extra touches like offering
refreshments or discounts, the bottom line is that customer
service can go a long way. “Customer service is the heart
of every small business,” says Helton. “Good customer
service is what feeds our business and gains us referrals
and new patients.”
