Patience on hold

摘要

When patients call a doctor's office, most of the time, they're put on hold. That can be quite frustrating. These days, doctors and office managers are subjecting every area of their practice to scrutiny. How- ever, they often overlook the first opportunity they have to create a good impression; the time telephone callers spend "on hold" before speaking with a member of staff. Telephone "hold" time is a fact of life for every dental practice; it is simply not possible to staff effectively and eliminate hold time completely. If the average time "on hold" is 30 seconds, a practice that receives 100 calls a day 260 business days a year has callers on hold 200 hours a year! It's a matter of concern, because many callers left in "dead air" simply hang up, and they may not call back.