Check In

• GREET – Greet by patient by name! Guess the patient’s name if possible.
• PHOTO – Check if patient’s photo is updated, take a new one if needed
• REASON – Re-iterate the reason for the patient’s appointment and who they will be seeing
• PAYMENT – Collect past due payment, re-quote estimated patient portion for today
• PAPERWORK – Give patient a health history form if needed
• EDDSON – Set patient to seated on Eddson

Explanation

• Here it is… this is the first physical interaction with the new patient. Remember, you MUST treat this visit as if its JOB INTERVIEW or AUDITION. You are trying to get hired as their dental office for life!
• So far, you have separated your practice from 99% of all other practices by answering their initial phone call in a friendly and professional manner.
• The patient was then sent a unique welcome packet including a welcome letter and a stack of glowing patient testimonials.
• Now, it’s time to further impress the patient with the care you show them inside of the office.
• No matter what is happening at the office when the patient arrives, all team members in the area must greet the patient with a “hello” and a smile. Under NO circumstances should a patient walk up to the front office area without being greeted. Patients have unfortunately become accustomed to walking in to a cold and sterile medical setting, signing in on a clip board while basically getting ignored by the staff on hand. The more you can differentiate your practice from the stereotypical dental setting, the longer and stronger your relationship will be with the patient.
• ANY team member in the immediate area of the front desk when a patient arrives must pause and greet the incoming patient. If the front office team is on the phone when a patient arrives, they can smile and wave to the patient acknowledging their arrival. If another team member is close by and has noticed that the patient has not received a proper greeting because the primary front office team is on the telephone, the backup team member must deliver the following script. Once the primary front office team member is available, it is appropriate to hand the duties back over to the front office.
• REMEMBER: Every step in the patient experience is another opportunity to provide exceptional and memorable customer service!   When a new patient enters the practice, try to greet them with by name.

Example

Front Office Team Member: Hello! You must be Mrs. Jones, welcome to the practice, it’s great to meet you, my name is (Team member’s name). Did you bring in the paper work that we sent you in the welcome packet?

Mrs. Jones (option #1): Yes I did, here it is.

Front Office Team Member: Great, please make yourself comfortable in our reception area while I enter your information into our computer. (Try to avoid the term “Waiting Room.”) Here is a little welcome gift from our whole team. (We give seasonal gifts to our new patients at their first visit. Examples of our welcome gifts are included in the program.) If you need anything at all, please don’t hesitate to ask. (Back office team member’s name) will be with you shortly to escort you back to the treatment room.

Mrs. Jones (option#2): No, sorry, I didn’t bring the paperwork with me.

Front Office Team Member: No problem, here are the forms. Feel free to have a seat and you can bring the forms back up when you’re all done.

When Mrs. Jones returns with the completed paperwork…Front Office Team Member: Great , feel free to make yourself comfortable in our reception area while I enter your information into our computer. Here is a little welcome gift from our whole team. If you need anything at all, please don’t hesitate to ask. (Back office team member’s name) will be with you shortly to escort you back to the treatment room.