I've really enjoyed watching Mary Portas' "Secret Shopper" on Channel 4 and both her previous "Queen of Shops" series for the BBC.
In "Queen of Shops" she was helping small independent retailers make the most of their shops to stand out from the competition. The makeovers of the shops were fantastic but what she really pushed was doing something different to stand out from the big chains and this often included great customer service. In "Secret Shopper" at first sight she is on the customer's side, fighting for better customer service. There have been some great examples of pushy salesmen, the sort of thing that a lot of people shy away from. The hard sell, the sales patter, the constant discounts and the formulaic shops were particularly well highlighted in the sofa shop programme. After some persuasion she got the MD and the salespeople on her side and turned around the way they did sales. A win for the customer who wasn't subjected to the hard sell any more, but also a win for the business as their sales increased and their staff got job satisfaction.
You might think this has nothing to do with dentistry or orthodontics, we are not exactly a retail or a sales business. However, I believe many of Mary's principles can be applied to dentists or indeed many other types of business. When I set up my practice I was sure I wanted to focus on great treatment and treating my patients with care and empathy. As dentists we are taught how to treat teeth, but we are not tauught how to run a business. There are two people in particular who have helped me develop in this over the years.
Ashley Latter is a sales coach for dentists. His inspiring course helped me "sell" my services without sounding like a salesperson or using pushy techniques. By talking to my patients and finding out more about them I can recommend the right sort of treatment. Think of the difference between the sofa salesmen with their standardised patter selling sofas that are too big or the wrong colour, and how Mary transformed them into people who listened to the customers and tried to understand what they wanted.
Chris Barrow is the Mary Portas of the dental world. Like Mary he can instantly see what is wrong with a dental practice and guide the owners to a better place. Like Mary's shops a dental practice might need a visual makeover, a team who care about service or behind the scenes help.
Neither Chris or Ashley are dentists and I am sure they experience the same sort of scepticism Mary faces when she first talks to the retailers about what they are doing wrong. Dentists can be stuck in the "we've always done it this way and so have our competitors" rut. I love seeing the moment of enlightenment on the faces of the retailers on Mary's programme as I can empathise with that, I've experienced it myself and seen it in other dental professionals.
I'm always trying to improve my practice, I love my job and my patients and want the best for all of us. Watching Mary's programme I've picked up a few things, visit my website and you'll see I've added my personal promise to the front page, inspired by her programme. I'm also very aware of the customer service experience wherever I go, whether it is a shop, a hotel, a restaurant or another dental practice.
More from Mary Portas please!
PS If you watched the first series of Queen of Shops you may have noticed she's had her smile improved since then, I think she looks fab!
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