June 2005

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Are You Indispensable?

Hopefully we are all on a quest to determine how we can take such phenomenal care of our patients that they would never dream of leaving us. We also want them to have a burning desire to tell their family and friends about us. How do we attain this ethereal dream? This vision of what we want our reality to look like?

A dear friend and author, Joe Calloway, just wrote the book: 1ndispensable: How to Become the Company That Your Customer’s Can’t Live Without. This profound book is filled with practical suggestions and real world examples of how leading companies have created customers so loyal that they'll do business with you and only you when it comes time to buy.

The last story in Joe’s book is actually a story I shared with him about the most outstanding customer experience I’ve ever had. I’d like to share it with you:

A ‘Royal’ Customer

My most memorable experience as a customer began 24 years ago, around the time my first child was born, with the purchase of a very expensive set of waterless cookware and knives from a door-to-door salesman.

As you can imagine, 24 years later, the cookware and the knives show a bit of wear and tear. Recently, a handle broke off one of the pots. That, along with a dent and small chip on another pot, a few rust spots on one knife, and the tip broken off another knife, had me feeling annoyed. The cookware had a lifetime warranty, but when I divorced, I had not saved any documentatin proving that I was the owner or that my cookware carried a lifetime warranty.

After finding a telephone number for Royal Prestige on the Web, I was delighted with the incredibly helpful Royal Presitge employee, Tracey, who answered the phone. I told Tracey the approximate time I had purchased the cookware and what my surname had been at the time of purchase as well as informed her that I had no Warranty papers.

Seconds later, Tracy asked if I had lived on Glenhill Drive in Cochrane, Alberta, when the cookware was purchased. She promptly assured me that replacements would be sent as soon as they received my damaged cookware and knives in the mail. I was thrilled, and very much looking forward to the arrival of the new pieces.

Two weeks later, Noelle, another Royal Prestige employee, phoned to tell me that she was in the process of packaging my replacement items. She had just realized that I would probably not ve very happy when my new knives arrrived, as Royal Presitge had recently upgraded the knives they were selling, so my new knives would not match the remaining pieces of my original set. I immeditely wondered how much she ws going to try to charge me to upgrade the rest of my knives. What she actually asked me is: “Would you mind if Royal Prestige sends you a complimentary entire new set of knives? It’s very important to us that our customers are totally happy with our product!” Not only was I happy, I was ELATED!!”

Providing Royal Service

We all have experienced times of outstanding customer service, and times, that were, shall we say, less than desirable. There is learning in each and every experience we encounter. The secret is, what do we do with that learning? How do we apply it to our practices so that we become indispensable, the Dental Practice our patients can’t live without?

Joe Calloway is a brilliant thinker, author and speaker. His thoughts on how to become Indispensable are practical, stimulating truths that few take the time to either think through or consistently act on. Joe's writing style is engaging and energizing, inspiring the reader to strive to become the company our customers can't live without.

If you are interested in reading Joe’s book to help you achieve the next level of performance in your Practice, you can order his book from Amazon - click here.

Are you willing to do what it takes to become Indispensable?

About the Author

CoraMarie Clark, MBA is recognized as a highly effective dental practice strategist. She works with dentists that want to optimize their potential both personally and professionally. Her collaborative approach has helped teams develop dynamic competitive strategies and achieve high impact sustainable results.

If you would like to explore the possibility of having CoraMarie work with your Dental Practice or speak for your Association or Group, contact us today.

CoraMarie Clark
phone 403.686.6136
email coramarie@strategix-ltd.com
web strategix-ltd.com

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