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| practice management 36 laser 1 2016 Eleven tips for success in your dental clinic Part III: CASCO and PEC Author: Dr Anna Maria Yiannikos, Germany & Cyprus We have already reached the third part of our exceptional se- ries on professional success and personal growth, and this jour- ney has the title Eleven tips for success in your dental clinic. In this article, you are going to get the critical knowledge and specific tips that I promise you will help you deal with delays and with conflict in a more professional and efficient way! Now let’s start with delays! As dental practitioners, we work with patients that have special needs and difficulties, therefore sometimes we find ourselves in trouble due to in- evitable delays. My question here is: How can we deal with them? However, most essential is, how can we control them? Be aware of the acronym CASCO, which stands for control, apologise, solu- tion, change, and offer. 1. Control You can control your delays by assigning to your assistant to remind you every five minutes for the next appointment that awaits you. She can be- come your personal alarm clock that will wake you up and remind you of your next appointment. You should also inform your “alarm clock” (aka assis- tant) how long exactly your next patient will have to wait in case of delays, so she can also inform him/her promptly and avoid possible irritability. 2. Apologise Do not be afraid to say sorry to your patients, this will show your humane side and they will really appreciate it. You can do it in so many ways, verbally (immediately when you face them) or you can send them an email ex- pressing your apologies. But please avoid adding annoying excuses, like ‘Sorry for being late, but I had a difficult surgery’ or ‘I am so sorry, but it is not my fault as the previous appointment came 30 min- utes late’. Do you think that our patients should care about our uncontrolled schedule? Or worse, the previous patient? Absolutely not! Please remember to avoid any excuses that will make them more angry or frustrated. 3. Solution Give them a solution for their next appointment. For example, you can say, “I suggest that next time we can book you especially the first morning appointment to ensure no delays.” 4. Change Do not be afraid to make the change—and change the habit of having delays at your clinic and create a clinic with no or limited delays. Trust me, this will add value to your clinic’s image—be aware that the best dentist is the one that respects his patients by being punctual. [ P i c t u r e : © v i l l o r e j o ] 12016