Apple's Lesson For Dental Offices

Several years ago, when my Mac laptop still had a battery that could be taken out, I called Apple to order a new one as my old battery had stopped holding much of a charge.

I was leaving town the next afternoon to consult a dentist and was hoping to get a new battery sent to me overnight so I’d have it before I left.

Unfortunately it was too late in the day for next day delivery so I figured I'd make the 45 minute drive to the Apple store to buy a new one. Before I could get off the phone the Apple employee I was speaking to checked to see if my old battery was still under warranty. As it turned out it was so I was transferred to a tech guy who had me put the battery through a series of diagnostic tests. At the end of doing the tests the tech dude said the battery was indeed shot and he’d have a new one sent out to me at no charge. He said I should expect it in about a week.

So instead of having to pay over a $100.00 for a new battery I was getting a free one due to the initiative of the Apple employee I first spoke to. Pretty cool. I figured for a hundred bucks I could survive another week with my old battery.

The next day as I left my house to head to the airport I found a package on my front door step. It was from Apple. I opened it up and lo and behold it was a new battery from Apple. Wow! Not only had I gotten a free replacement battery but Apple had somehow gotten it delivered to me by the very next morning.

Now that’s service! And that’s what creates customer loyalty: Exceeding expectations. Probably explains why I’ve been an Apple customer for 25+ years.

The moral of the story: Do everything you can to exceed the expectations of your dental patients. That's just good practice management. If you do, you’ll have loyal patients who will stay with your practice for a long time and who will be glad to refer friends, family and business acquaintances to you.