Editor's note: The Coaches Corner column appears regularly on the DrBicuspid.com advice and opinion page, Second Opinion.
I just received a complimentary note from a friend who is Editor Emeritus of the Pennsylvania Dental Journal. He read my article in the November issue of Dentistry Today about developing and implementing an effective and sustainable no-show policy. He wrote, "There are lots of pearls in the article. I hope I have the courage to implement them."
Aha! There it is -- the C word. According to Aristotle (and paraphrased by a legion of people since), "courage is the first quality (or virtue), because it is the quality that guarantees the others." My article resonated with my friend Richard because he appreciated that the essence of establishing and maintaining powerful leadership is the implementation of a plan.
Sure, the development of the plan is important -- and it doesn't hurt to speak to a coach about it -- but none of these things amount to a hill of beans without the courage to follow through. Beautifully crafted and elegantly reasoned policies are fine, but in the end it is all about practice.
In my Dentistry Today article, I wrote that implementation of a no-show policy involves placing a concrete financial disincentive on patients who, for reasons good or bad, break appointments on short notice. One essential feature of implementation is the setting of broken appointment fees (an approximation of the fees you would have earned if the patient honored the appointment and the treatment was rendered). This practice is essential to establishing punctuality on both sides. Yes, you are demanding respect, but your patients will quickly understand that you are giving it equally. Your time is theirs and no one else's. Every patient has a right to have his or her time appointment time respected. (Hey, if you don’t consistently run on time and don't want to, "fuggedaboutit," as we say in the Bronx. This conversation is not for you!)
The courage part comes in when a patient gets angry and threatens to leave your care if you insist on collecting the broken appointment fee or angrily refuses to pay it. The courage part comes in when you, and the team member responsible for collections, has to stick to their guns, knowing full well that the patient might leave. The courage part comes in when your vision of an efficient, well-run, and yes, profitable dental practice is threatened by the rude (intentional or simply thoughtless) and occasionally arrogant behavior of a patient. Yes, life intervenes for our busy patients, but our problem is primarily keeping our schedules, not theirs
Will you have the courage to collect, say good-bye, or even in some cases do the firing yourself? Will you have the courage to work with your team so that they are as insulted as you are when Ms., Mrs., or Mr. I-Am-the-Center-of-the-World calls and says, "Oh, something has come up and I can't make it in today. I'll call back to reschedule." Click!
Will you have the courage?
Alan Goldstein, D.M.D., F A.C.D., is a member of the Dental Coaches Association, an organization of dentists and professional coaches who are committed to bringing professional coaching to the dental profession. Learn more by visiting www.dentalcoachesassociation.org.
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