How many times have you stood in line to checkout the grocery store and wondered why you put yourself in that situation to begin with? Even with ‘10 items or Less’, it’s likely you will have to wait longer that you feel you deserve, especially with such a busy schedule. My awareness of this supermarket insanity peaked when I moved to Florida in 2013 to help my vision-impaired grandmother, Golda Mae. After my grandfather passed away suddenly that year, my love for my grandmother grew parallel to her dependence on me - emotionally and physically. Helping her adjust to the absence of my grandad turned into becoming the new-age ‘Uber’ driver. Trips to “The Walmart” became a common route.
Walmart is my worst nightmare. It’s not only full of everything under the sun, it’s also a common meeting ground for about every citizen in the city at any given time. After walking three miles to check off every item on ol’ Golda’s list, my anxiety levels reached new heights - - only to skyrocket even more during checkout.
The checkout process of a grocery store and dental office are more similar that you would think!
After several chants of the Serenity Prayer while standing in the checkout line at Walmart, I started to think about time and how valuable it is to me. When you schedule appointments for your patients, have you ever factored in checkout time? No? Why not? There is one thing dental practices have in common with Walmart - the checkout process. What happens when there are several people arriving at the checkout desk at the same time - a big freaking bottleneck occurs. Some poor schmuck is waiting at the end of a line to pay a $20 co-payment. But hey, they’re out of the operatory. Outta sight, outta mind - right? But, what about your patient? Remember - this is their last impression of your practice before going away to (hopefully) tell all their friends.
What if you could streamline this process by collecting payment in the operatory? This way, your patients don’t have to stop at the front desk.
“I’d say you’re crazy, Angie.”
Merchants, like Walmart, recognized that the checkout process in their stores was inefficient. They weren’t alone. Target, Walgreens, and Publix (my grocery store), to name a few, have realized there must be a simpler way to buy your household goods without customers standing in line. Improving checkout also eliminates waste (muda, in lean terms) in other ways, like a better utilization of people. What did they do? They have a more online approach. My grandma is 86 years old. She hasn’t worked a day in her life. Walking down every aisle and standing in lines at Walmart is like a vacation for her. I love my grandma dearly, but I have 10 other things I need to do. These days, I order online and have it shipped!
What if the process of a typical hygiene appointment was so streamlined, you could factor in collecting payment chairside? Imagine how valuable that would be? I can make this process lean enough for you that you start to realize how this once crazy idea becomes invaluable. This attention to detail (always adding value) eliminates unnecessary trips to the infamous checkout “encounters” as well. Do you think a patient wants anyone to hear about their appointment? Or, (God forbid) financial details?
The script is simple:
Hygienist: “ Let’s go ahead and schedule your next preventative care visit. Six months from today brings us to July 3rd. Would you prefer a morning or afternoon?”
Patient: “Afternoon”
Hygienist: “Ok, Monday at 2pm. How does that sound?”
Patient: “That works.”
Hygienist: “For your Tooth and Gum Tonic, there is a $30 copayment, would you like to care of that with cash or credit card?”
Patient: “Credit.”
Hygienist: “Great, we can take care of that now, so you don’t have to stop at the front desk.”
It’s actually pretty simple to equip operatories with computers and the ability to swipe a credit card and log a payment into the patient ledger. There is no need to transfer the patient to the front desk to suffer through that pesky line that seems to form when 6 hygienists complete treatment at the same time. Talk about a HUGE bottleneck - and a colossal waste of time for the patient! If the checkout process clogs your practice’s arteries, know that there’s a way to perform bypass surgery by implementing in operatory checkout. This is my New Year’s gift to you; a pretty easy way to improve flow, efficiency and the patient experience in your Dental Practice.
What improvements are you planning to make in your practice in 2020? Happy New Year my friends. CHEERS!
