Ten reasons why my practice doesn’t have a phone

Many of you know I pulled the plug on a practice website and went full on social media nearly eight years ago. However, most of you probably don’t know that around the same time, I also cut the cord on the phone! The phone represented a huge headache for our office. The phone is the most disruptive form of communications. Eliminating it has led to a happier staff and better patient experience.

Disrupting the in-person experience

The phone was disruptive to an awesome in-person experience. Your patients hate it when the optician stops working with them to pick up a phone call. How do you feel when you walk in somewhere, and you are given the "finger" by the front desk person, indicating for you to just hang out while she finishes up the call? Our patients and staff hate the disruptions caused by the phone.      

Why they call

For a period of about three months, I began to study phone use. Why were people calling us? The vast majority of the calls we received were to:

1. To make an appointment

2. To find out if an order was in

3. To find out basic info, such as hours and insurance accepted

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Our solutions were:

1. Utilize an online scheduler. We wanted our patients to be able to enjoy the same efficiencies and advantages they are accustomed to while using services like Grubhub.com, Expedia.com, and Amazon.com. They are able to make an appointment at any time, even when the office is closed. They also will automatically get the office FAQ, so they come best prepared.

2. Utilize an old-school business card with eyewear expected date of arrival written on it. Despite our love for everything tech, we still do some things analog. One of them is the use of business cards. The optician will hand a patient a business card with the estimated time of arrival and say, “We expect your glasses by this date. As soon as they arrive, we will e-mail you. Please don’t e-mail us before this date, however, if for some reason they are not here by this date, then e-mail us to let us know.” We intentionally mention e-mail several times to let people know that is how we prefer to communicate.

3. Ensure our online presence includes our basic information. For example, our Facebook page’s info section is complete, and our “About” section has an up-to-date FAQ. The FAQ addresses many of the common questions people ask. We are clear that e-mail is our preferred mode of communication.

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