How can I keep you as a client?

Question

~~~I work in a dental lab as a customer service rep,,,,As you the Dentist ,,,, how can I keep you as a client? What does a Dentist want and need from their dental lab?

Answer 1

I agree totally with the professionals who have answered above. I'd add, if I specify something in the prescription, DO IT MY WAY or call to tell me why you can't. Do not read between the lines.

I recently left a lab after over 25 years of using them 99% exclusively. All of the sudden, things went haywire. I had to send back 8 of ten cases before I realized that it just was not going to get better again. The same techs who had been doing my work for pretty much 15 years or more suddenly screwed everything up about as much as possible. I mean, I sent a case for a P/L that needed one lower incisor and one molar on each side. I sent a model of the 20-some year old partial that the patient wanted to duplicate. My Rx read, "Please see the enclosed model of the existing partial and make a new one just like the old one." That's it. For God knows what reason, the tech thought I meant to remove all of the remaining incisors, so he cut them from the model and sent back a partial as if it was for immediate insertion for the incisors. I concluded that they are smoking something illegal in that place and just had to take my work elsewhere.

Same day pickup is nice, using a LAB employee instead of a courier service. At least you know that the case will not be drop kicked across a warehouse somewhere.

Answer 2

I am not a Dentist, but I am a Practice Coordinator for a dental office. The most important thing in our practice is the accuracy of a case. The second most important is a timely delivery of the product. Sending a case back leaves a bad impression (no pun intended). Not having a case before the delivery date or appointment day may cause friction between the patient-doctor relationship which in turn causes friction with a lab.

Answer 3

#1 - Do it right.
#2 - Do it on time.
#3 - If you can't get #1, then #2 doesn't matter!

I've had stuff come back the day before the patient is due and I look at it just on the cast and say... "What?!" Did they even look at this after they were done?

Be sure you have a list of each doctor's preferences; you don't want to have to call them everytime something is a bit off w/ the impression or whatever, so know what their expectations are. (Sadly) some docs have higher standards...

by way of example on the preference... I tend to under-reduce crown preps - I want as much nat'l tooth left as possible to retain the crown, so maybe I only reduce 1.75mm rather than 2. THen I get this call every time "is it ok if we reduce the opposing?" Ooh, i'll have to take of .25mm enamel from the big fat healthy lower molar (which i look at during the prep anyway). The point is, don't pester the doc if you can avoid it.

Conversely, if you dont' know, you better call. Better to bother him for 2 min than to send something and make them have to resched the patient.

Answer 4

I agree with JB above: quality and consistancy of the work, long-lasting crowns, shade matching at the lab when necessary, a technician who will come to the office to meet a patient for a big case (that's why I prefer local), and if a case is delayed for any reason NOTIFY THE OFFICE IN ADVANCE so that a patient can be rescheduled.

Most of the above depends on good communicaton.

We really value our labs and recognize that they are an extension of our work. When a crown or bridge goes out of our door, our reputation is attached.

Answer 5

Try to keep expensive and unnecessary procedures to a minimum for uninsured clients--and don't make them feel like criminals.