Update Notice:  This blog post was reviewed for accuracy on May 26^th, 2021, by a Healthcare Training Leader expert, and determined to be up-to-date, accurate and complete. Front desk phone etiquette.

QUESTION: We recently discovered that we lost several patients due to the poor customer service they received over the phone. How can I help our front desk team improve their phone etiquette?

Question Submitted from a Denver, CO Training Session Attendee Front desk phone etiquette.

ANSWER: Great phone etiquette needs to be learned. On the job training may be your employees’ first exposure to this critically important skill. When you consider that poor service is the top reason patients leave practices just like yours, you get how crucial it is to have your front desk staff well-trained.

Losing just 3% of your patient volume can equate to over $150,000 a year in lost revenue. Keep your patients satisfied and returning to your office by having your front desk team use these proven customer service phone etiquette pointers and tips:

• Phone Voice: Encourage your staff to use a “phone voice.” This is an extra-friendly, cheerful version of themselves. Front desk phone etiquette.
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• Smile: Answer the phone with a smile. If you’re having a bad day, fake it. Patients don’t want to feel like they’re bothering you.
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  Tip: Ask your front desk staff to stick a small mirror up on their monitor. When they answer the phone, encourage them to look in the mirror and smile. It will serve as a gentle reminder each time they pick up the phone.
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• Excel at Greetings: Write your greeting how you want it and have every person on the phone use the same greeting no matter what. A good greeting has four elements:
  • The greeting (such as good morning)
  • Your name (this is so-and-so)
  • The full name of the practice (with Dr. Smith’s office)
  • How you can be of service (how may I help you?)
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• Hold Permission: Do not immediately put patients on hold; always ask first. Also, be sure your staff listens to the response. Nothing is more frustrating than to be asked, “do you mind holding,” and having the person hang up before you answer. Why bother asking if they aren’t going to listen?
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• Use the Patient’s Name: Get the patient’s name and call them by it throughout the call. You can ask them something like, “With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?”
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  Tip: If it helps, have your team keep a scratch pad at the front desk to jot the name down so they can use it correctly. Be sure that at the end of their shift, the paper with patient names is shredded, or it could become a HIPAA violation.
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• Practice Knowledge: Your front desk staff should be able to answer the most frequently asked questions about your practice. For example, what services you offer, your physicians’ credentials, etc. Try creating short cheat sheets to keep at the front desk to help them have the information they need at their fingertips.
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  Tip: Obviously, new staff members will find it difficult to have the answers to every question. In these instances, encourage the staff member to tell the patient they are new. People usually are forgiving because everyone has been new at some point.
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• Closing the Call: At the end of the call, if the patient has made an appointment, repeat all the information back to them: the physician’s name, appointment time, appointment purpose and location. Use the patient’s name as you do so. Finally, ask if there is anything else the patient needs assistance with, and thank them for calling.

Exceptional phone etiquette, as simple as it may seem, is not always intuitive for your staff. A great way to retain patients and gain new ones is to ensure your front desk staff has top-notch customer service phone skills. That’s where customer service expert, consultant and Healthcare Training Leader expert Tracy Bird, FACMPE, CPC, CPMA, CEMC, CPC-I, comes in. During her 60-minute online training session, Tracy walks you through how to effectively identify where your staff’s front desk phone etiquette is currently falling short and exactly how to fix it. Registration for this session is open. Sign up today!

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