I recently went to a brand new dentist and was very cognizant of the way the experience was designed for me. This dentist had opened his office in a beautiful brand-new building. A fountain greeted me in the vestibule to the suite, and just beyond it a beautiful waiting room. After filling out the mounds of paperwork, I relaxed on a beautiful leather couch and watched the big flat-screen TV. After my name was called by the hygenist, I made my way to a sparkling and nicely decorated examination room—complete with plush examination chair which had a flat-screen TV attached to it. I was handed a remote and told to choose what I wanted to watch. Relaxing classical music played softly over the sound system throughout the office, and I was even handed large pink safety glasses to protect my eyes during the examination. The office was equipped with all the latest technology: the hygenist examined my teeth and then entered all the information into a computer screen right behind the examination chair.
These all seem like the components for a wonderful experience! Nice extra touches to make me feel special and relaxed. I sat back and wondered how they would twist all the other normal elements of a dental examination into delightful actions created to make me feel special.
But this experience really hammered home to me how important the factor of human behavior and service by people can be. Because despite the TV attached to my exam chair, and the lovely brand new surroundings, this was the most horrible dental experience I've ever had. It wasn't the most painful—but the service was shoddy at best, brusque and uncaring at worst. The staff never took the time to make me feel as special as the surroundings did. The hygenist did a less-than-average job of cleaning my teeth; the dentist had a horrible "bedside" manner, poked and prodded in my mouth with no care; adjusted the overhead light so that it shined directly in my eyes; berated me for not opting to get the expensive (un-neccessary) x-ray that my insurance didn't cover; announced that I had cavaties, but gave me no further details except that the receptionist would explain the payment plan with me; failed to let me know when the examination was over; never handed me the courtesy toothbrush and toothpaste that I saw laying out for me on the countertop; and didn't even say goodbye.
The quality of the service I received so soured me on this experience that I will NEVER go back to this office. I will also tell others not to go there. And this is from a person who gives many more second chances to many more people than she should—I am a very laid back and forgiving customer.
And I wonder, had the office been set up in the same shoddy manner as the service—would I have been so disappointed? Was my disgust and disappointment brought out because the service didn't match the environment presented to me? What if the conditions were switched, and the office was shoddy but the service was excellent?
I think what I ultimately took away is that the conditions for an experience need to be crafted in a way that shows not only care, but consistancy: all the details need to be tended to in the same manner. Otherwise, people are left confused as to the values that a company or organization is trying to portray.
My final takeaway from this dentist? He cares far more about beautiful environments and status symbols than treating his patients right. And, that designing an experience in a successful way wholly depends on making sure all the details say the same thing!
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