I recently read a statistic that 27% of all new patients calling to schedule their first appointment are calling when the practices are CLOSED! Weekends, holidays, early mornings – prior to opening and at night long after the dental offices were closed.
I have always felt that it is important to be available for patients, whether they have an emergency dental problem like a toothache or an accident, or if they just want to check on an insurance payment. For the last two years we have had our phones answered after hours.
What you can expect from our staff
I have seen ads for answering services that will take calls for dental offices, but I find it very important that patients speak with a staff member at Mount Olive Family Dentistry when dental emergencies or problems arise. Hiring answering services may work for some dental offices, but at Mount Olive Family Dentistry we want patients to know that they can reach us:
- Day or night
- 24 hours a day
- 7 days a week
- 365 days a year
The reason we don’t hire a dental answering service
The biggest problem that I see with dental answering services is the person answering the phone won’t know you and likely wouldn’t be able to help you. For this reason I have the office phone answered by one of my staff members. I simply forward the phones to a company cell phone that goes home with one of my staff members every night.
Being able to call and speak to a real live person that works with me every day allows patients to have the peace of mind knowing we are only a phone call away. If for any reason, you need to leave a message, rest assured one of my staff is just putting their kids to bed, but will get back to you right away.
So, go ahead and give us a call – we are here to help when you have a problem! – Dr. Kimes
