What is THE most Important Dental Tool?

You might have looked at the picture and decided on your "favorite" tool. But in actuality the dentist's (actually ANY service provider's)most important tool is the pen.

My friend Mary had some dental work performed by her dentist, Bobby Grossi from DaVinnci Dental In Clawson, Michigan. Dr Grossi took over the practice from another dentist about 8 months ago. Mary liked her original dentist and had been with him for years. When Dr. Grossi took over she assumed that her dentist trusted him and so she decided to stay with the office.

Dr. Grossi obviously doesn't take customer loyalty for granted as a number of business owners do. He knew that he needed to offer superior customer in order to keep these new customers coming back to him.

Dr. Grossi HAND wrote a note to her. It said:

Mary,
I hope everything is going well. It truly is a pleasure to provide you with dental care. You are a lot of fun to work on, and I enjoy your company. I hope to be your treating dentist for years to come.
Thank you
Bobby Grossi

This is a PERFECT thank you note. It was handwritten, it was personal, it stated his goal (to be your treating dentist for years to come)

Mary was thrilled to receive this note and now feels even more loyal than she might have after a good visit.

But lets look at the other benefits. The handwritten note was so note worthy that she shared it with everyone at a group breakfast. Everyone looked at the note, everyone was impressed. And I am pretty sure that everyone thought to themselves "Why doesn't my dentist send me a note?"

Also she happened to hand to a customer service trainer, me, who has now written about it in her blog.

I had an opportunity to speak with Dr. Grossi. I asked him why he wrote the note. He said that he wants his patients to know that he is a human being that is grateful for their business. He treats his patients the way he would hope to be treated.

I asked if he had any comments from his patients about the notes. He has received comments but he said that his goal was not to get a specific response, it was just to let them know that they were appreciated.

If you are thinking, "yea I would love to have the time to do something like that." throw that excuse away. Dr. Grossi says he spends about twenty minutes a day writing his notes. You have twenty minutes to let your customers know you appreciate them, don't you?

If you don't, make the time. These kinds of notes work better than all the other kinds of outreach you do. People respond better to a friends recommendation than an ad in a paper.

Do it now! Write your customer a thank you note...I am going to!