Dentists can benefit from mystery shopping, because they can get objective feedback on how they and their staff are performing.
The problem with asking patients about how you’re doing is that dentists and patients often have good relationships. As a result, a patient won’t tell when they’re truly dissatisfied, or they’ll downplay an issue they have, because they don’t want to hurt your feelings. So you won’t get the best possible feedback on the quality of care and patient loyalty for your practice.
This is where mystery shopping can help. Mystery shoppers can not only give objective feedback, but they can make sure that proper procedures are being followed. It’s an old management adage that employees are on their best behavior when the boss is around — “when the cat’s away, the mice will play” — which means that the staff will do everything they’re supposed to when the dentist is in the room.
But what about when he or she isn’t?
Working with a mystery shopping firm can help dentists and dental practices get that proper feedback. A mystery shopping professional will pose as a patient, go through all the necessary procedures, keep track of the care they received, and provide the necessary feedback to the agency.
They’ll answer questions about things like:
- Are the hygienists answering questions?
- Did the hygienists spend a lot of time with the patient?
- Did the dentist visit?
- How long did he or she stay?
- Did the hygienists get clean gloves from the box?
- Was the hygienist friendly and gentle?
Best of all, this mystery shopping is something the dentist or office manager will arrange. You and your practice are not subjected to random visits from unauthorized mystery shoppers. This is something you yourself will have arranged.
Now that review sites like Yelp include feedback on doctors and dentists, it’s important that dentists keep track of what is being said about them. Rather than waiting for complaints to reach Yelp, they can use mystery shopping to identify problem areas and fix them before they become a serious problem for patients.
Photo credit: sj_sanders (Flickr, Creative Commons)
The Mystery Shopping Experience 