Are you plain vanilla?

Every time I fly I get a cheery email from the airline asking “How was your flight?” and inviting me to fill in a survey.

Years ago I used to fill in the surveys and offer constructive suggestions. Now I don’t bother. As far as I can tell, the suggestions never get read. Asking customers for suggestions is just a marketing ploy so that airlines can pretend they care.

The only differences I find between the airlines are the colour of the uniforms and the paint job on the aircraft. Apart from that they’re all the same. Which leads me on to dentistry.

In your practice the things that make you memorable for your patients are not the things you do that are the same as all other dentists. If you have magazines in the waiting room and flowers on the front desk you are just like every other dentist.

The things that make you stand out in your patients’ minds are the things you do that are different.

Like, for example, having an espresso machine. Or baking fresh muffins each day. Or offering a hot towel at the end of treatment. Or having a soft-serve yoghurt machine in the waiting room. Or even something as simple as standing up and shaking a patient’s hand when they enter the room. Or running on time.

Years ago an airline used to give out Lindt chocolates after the meal service. It was tiny thing but it made me feel good about them and it made them different from their competition.

What things do you do that are different from other dental practices? The dental environment is much more competitive today, yet I visit practice after practice where they do nothing different or memorable.

Does your practice do anything different or are you plain vanilla?