Are you in charge of the front desk at a dental office? One of the best ways to keep things humming along smoothly is to put a script in place for your front-desk staff members. Dental office receptionist scripts save time, and they ensure that each and every customer gets the same great experience when calling your business.
Take a look at these five components of great dental office receptionist scripts, and adjust them to fit your needs as you see fit.
Step 1: Appropriate Greeting
First, make sure that your front-desk team answers every phone call in the same way, or in some basic variation of the same pattern. This shouldn’t be overly complicated or difficult — a simple “Hello, you’ve reached ABC Dental Practice, how can I help you today?” will suffice. Always use a pleasant tone of voice in this segment and throughout dental office receptionist scripts.
Step 2: Listen
The next phase of successful dental office receptionist scripts involves not saying anything at all. It’s time to listen. You’ve already directed the conversation to the caller, and now they’ll tell you what the purpose of their call is. Take note immediately of the caller’s name if they offer it.
Step 3: Assess
Now, assess what the caller has told you. This segment of dental office receptionist scripts involves some critical thinking on the part of the front-desk staff. Try to assess if the call involves an urgent need that the customer might need to come in immediately for, or if it’s more of a routine call. Other calls might require you to check with the doctor, or your manager.
Step 4: Take Action
The action phase of dental office receptionist scripts will involve front-desk staff telling the customer what is going to happen next. This could be something like:
“Let’s get an appointment set up for you next week.”
Or…
“Why don’t you come in to the office as soon as you can?”
If you need to step away from the phone to talk to your supervisor or the doctor, politely tell the caller that you’re placing them on hold and will be back in a few short moments.
Step 5: Confirm Appointment and Sign Off
Generally speaking, an appointment should be set just about every time that front-desk staff are talking to a customer on the phone. The final section of dental office receptionist scripts should include information wrapping up the customer’s appointment information, then giving a polite goodbye. Try: “We have your appointment set for 4:00 next Wednesday, the 14th. We’re looking forward to seeing you then! Have a good day.”
Dental office receptionist scripts don’t have to be complicated. In fact, the simpler the better. Put one into place at your dental office and watch how productivity improves!
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