Are you being served?

Overheard in a local public house this week (a gloriously sunny half term week here in our corner of the world), the manager of the establishment whispered to the barman (in a stage whisper loud enough for those of us stood at the bar to hear) "Check with me before you seat anyone else for food - sometimes it's just easier to send them somewhere else rather than explain there is a wait for food"...........

I was more than a little shocked - why would they want to turn away their customers, in one of the busiest weeks of the year? And then it dawned on me, as I watched several people run around like headless chickens - they were completely unprepared, the Bank Holiday and subsequent half term week had obviously taken these people in the "hospitality" industry by surprise!!!! So, as I watched they turned away their potential customers...... Where did they go? Would they ever return? No one will ever know, and I think I was the only one who cared!

It started me thinking - do we look after our patients well enough - are we we prepared enough for our patients, and I had to think - yes, we are! We always allow time in our appointment books each day to see emergencies, allowing more time after bank holidays or clinicians holidays. We know that any dental emergency from severe pain to a lost crown can be disturbing, and we want our patients to know, that we have a provision to take care of you that same day. We know our patients well and know the patients who might need slightly longer appointment times, and allow for this.

We know which patients need to update important paperwork and we are prepared for this when they arrive; we make it our responsibility to know who is due into the practice and their treatment needs, before they even arrive through the door. Patients who arrive without appointments but need to be seen are accommodated to the best of our abilities - they are not told there is no room at the inn! If we're busy we see it as a real positive - people want to visit us at Absolute, we won't turn you away, we just hope that you understand we will slot you in just as soon as we can.

At Absolute Dental we like all of our patients to feel important, we want you to feel looked after so that we can enjoy seeing you for many years to come.

Written by Diane