Why Bother With Surveys?

dreamstimelarge_12222456“I received a survey from your office the other day and I didn’t fill it out because nobody reads them and nothing ever comes of them.” I wonder…has this ever been your thought?

At Dental Associates of Walpole, patient satisfaction is a core pillar of how we operate. We are constantly working to improve your experience, ensuring you are comfortable and at ease when visiting us. Hearing from the people who come in everyday, forming fresh, new opinions about the office atmosphere and about their time spent here, is an extremely valuable way for us to measure where we excel and identify gaps that need to be addressed. Sure, surveys can take a few minutes and we understand how busy your days are, so we want to thank you for taking the time to participate. Without your observations, we would be unclear on how we stack up against your expectations.

Every day we excitedly open our mail hopeful to find new feedback that will help us improve. Our surveys not only benefit your experience here but serve to identify the hard-working members of the Dental Associates of Walpole team. We constantly look to recognize our star performers and make sure their commitment to delivering a pleasant visit for you is rewarded accordingly. Many patients wish to remain anonymous and we certainly respect that, however if comfortable doing so, we encourage you to go ahead and let us know who you are!  When you remain anonymous we consider it a lost opportunity to work with you directly and to properly thank you for helping us continuously evaluate and improve on the services you receive in the office.

So now that we have been sending out surveys for almost two months, here’s what we are learning: We have heard that you think very highly of our employees. You think the office is beautiful. You are delighted with our professionalism and quality of care. You think we are great with children and special needs patients. You love our technology of scanners for digital impressions, CEREC for one day crowns, and our new Sleep Apnea services.

Our new reminder system received high praises from most, while others feel that it may be a little too much. The good news is that we can tailor the reminder frequency to each individual patient. We are working on a newsletter (which should be out this month) that will address the frequency of reminders and offer ways for you to personalize them to your individual needs. Without your feedback, we would not have thought to put together the newsletter, so thank you.

For consistency reasons, many of you feel more comfortable seeing the same hygienist each time you visit. On the other side of the fence, many have pointed out how much they enjoy seeing a different hygienist because they always learn something a little different. We can make either happen! Just let us know electronically or in person and we will make every effort to accommodate you in your future visits!

Today we strive to be better than we were yesterday, knowing that we are not as good as we will be tomorrow. We can do this because of your loyalty to Dental Associates of Walpole and your excellent feedback. We are committed to being the best and delivering the best because we are serving the best. So, the next time you see a survey in your inbox and are tempted to delete it as just another piece of worthless busywork, I’d encourage you to think again!
And, did I mention we have the best patients? Thank you for reading the blogs and a super big thank you for taking the time to respond to the surveys we send!

By Pamela Adams - CEO, Dental Associates of Walpole

Comments are closed.