Not all do. Many, but not all.
What is bad service from a web company? It’s pretty much anything they do to frustrate, irritate, or anger you. The most common complaints are:
- No one will return my call
- No one will answer their phone when I call
- No one will return my email
- They only answer the phone when I’m working and can’t call
- I get transferred from person to person and no one can help me
- My requests take forever to get fulfilled, and sometimes they are never done
- My requests are done wrong
- People are rude on the phone
- People get too technical and I just want my website stuff done
- People make excuses about why something isn’t done or takes too long
- People complain about their job, being overloaded, having too much work
- The person in customer service has no idea what I’m asking
- I’m getting the runaround
- They’re rude to my employees
- I’m overcharged and under-served
I feel your pain. I have actually worked with business owners and employees that say things like, “I’m not calling him back,” “I’ll make him wait,” and “I put my phone through to voicemail when I see his number.” (I’m leaving out the name calling and profanity.) This kind of service is not service at all, and you certainly shouldn’t pay for it. You can be treated badly for free at almost any “service” station across the country!
At MDPM, we’re a small, boutique dental marketing company, and you can reach the owners, Jill (that’s me) or Jill, any time. Both of us have smart phones, so you can email or text, as well. I am more than happy to answer client calls on the weekends and evenings. Jill and I both understand that during the day, dentists have to see patients. Without that, they have no business! In many cases, our clients can only find time to call on weekends or evenings. We also serve clients in various time zones, so we work on their time, not ours. It’s a respect issue. If you call MDPM, we will return your call promptly – and that’s if you don’t get us immediately.
We address client concerns, though they are rare, and we don’t transfer calls to other people in our organization. We handle it, and we appreciate knowing when our clients are concerned. Every issue is an opportunity to go above and beyond the client’s expectations. This approach has served us well in business.
It’s the old Golden Rule, amended: we treat customers as we want to be treated as customers.
I remember as a manager telling the company owner that our employees should understand, the level of their customer service indirectly affects whether they remain employed – not only because they could be terminated for bad service, but because if our clients aren’t treated well, they will leave. Then we’re all in the bread line! My voice may not have been heard there, but as an owner of MDPM, my employees live by this philosophy.
Over the holidays, one of our clients sent me an email stating that she appreciated that Jill and I are as committed to customer service as she and her husband are in their dental practice. I’ve called the practice, and their service is excellent. What a compliment!
We have a running joke with another client that we can post updates (support requests) on her blog before her web company will post them to her website. We always win. It’s great.
If you’ve experienced bad service from your dental website or marketing agency, call Modern Dental Practice Marketing at 972-781-8861 and get the treatment you deserve. We ARE in the business to make dentists smile, and that’s a promise.