Creating a Memorable Experience for Your Clients

I was sitting in the chair, waiting. My experience wasn’t going well so far. My hands, clamped tight, were starting to sweat. I was looking around, for someone…anyone to walk by.

I admit to the world that this is not my strong suit. It never has been.  I am courageous about many things. The dentist isn’t one of them.

In my own defense, I spent 8 years of my youth in an orthodontic appliance of some sort or another. And I’ve had braces, twice. My mouth was a mess. I now have great teeth thank you to the intervention of my parents and the sadistic tendencies of my Orthodontist, Dr. Beckwith. But, I definitely still have trauma when sitting in that robot space chair.

Now, back to my current predicament.  It seemed like they were taking an inordinate amount of time to start the actual cleaning.  Not only were my nerves raw, but I was getting frustrated. Then the very knowledgeable lady from the front desk came into the room.

“Uh-oh.  Something is up, ” I said nervously.

“I’m sorry, but we just checked and we don’t accept your insurance,” she replied with a sheepish look on her face. “My apologies. We should have been more clear with you when we made the appointment.”

I had the bib on, and they’d already taken the x-rays.

“What? Really?”

“Yeah. Actually, I tell all of our patients who are self-insured (I own my own business – not a lot of options) that it’s better not to use that dental insurance. You just end up paying out-of-pocket anyway.”

“Man! They didn’t tell me that! Well, thank you.” I started to undo the bib. I was mad, but it wasn’t her fault. I was looking for a way out of there anyway. I had my bib off, and was about to the front door, when I heard her say something to the dentist.

Then I heard, “You know what? We’ll clean your teeth anyway.”

I was shocked. “What? Really?”

Sometimes an upset client is an opportunity to deepen a relationship – not to lose one. 

“Sure. Like I said, It’s our fault for not double-checking when you made the appointment. We’ll clean your teeth for free.  ”

It took me a second to process.  “You are going to give me a free cleaning?”

“Yes.”

“Okay!” I agreed with a huge grin on my face.

I then proceeded to have an amazing cleaning where we laughed the whole time. It was pretty much the best dentist appointment I’ve ever had. Thank you so much to the amazing Dr. Eric Ulm and the lovely and hilarious staff at Maxtown Family Dental in Westerville, Ohio.

Now getting a free teeth cleaning may not seem like the basis for a blog article. But what actually happened was sheer brilliance on the part of my new dentist. Let’s review.

1. They took responsibility – They immediately took responsibility  for the situation.  Realizing that it could have been prevented on their end.
2. They took action quickly – They decided to turn the situation around in a matter of seconds.  They didn’t let me leave the office.
3. They went above and beyond to fix it – There could have been a whole bunch of different resolutions to the situation, but the one they chose one that had a lot of value.  They went big. Basically making it difficult for me to say no – awesome.
4. They made the resolution fun – They shifted the energy of the situation and we all ended up enjoying each other.

Next time that you are worried about a client being upset, create a resolution as big and beautiful as my free teeth cleaning. Sometimes an upset client is an opportunity to deepen a relationship (and get some free publicity!) not to lose one. Not only do I have a new dentist – but I’ve told a ton of people how amazing I think Dr. Ulm and his staff are. Truly Awesome!

How do you create memorable experiences for your clients?  Share below!!