"If you don't let people know when they are doing things right and when they are doing things wrong, they'll never know!"

Ralph was really into letting people know when they were screwing up so they would stop doing it wrong and start doing it right. Lord only knows how long it might take them to learn otherwise! And, I firmly believe, as the CEO of your practice, YOU are responsible for letting folks know when they are doing well and when they need some help! Why leave it to chance?

Perfect example: Recently I was making a bank deposit at the bank, which holds our home mortgage. I pulled up to the drive-thru, put my information into the clear tube, and zapped it over to the teller. Grabbing the clear tube, the teller punched some buttons, after a few seconds, maybe 15, put the deposit receipt back into the tube, and zapped it back to me.

Not so much as a "thank-you.," or "How are you today?" Nothing! Not one word!

Imagine, this gal even had a chance to speak to me about converting all of my accounts, or even one, to her bank, without much effort at all. Instead, she treated me like garbage!

So, with her lack of words and my deposit receipt, I said to her, "I sure hope your day gets better and you treat the lady behind me better than you just treated me." She looked completely flabbergasted that I would even say anything to her! She acted insulted. Hmmm. I also tried to say it loud enough so her supervisor inside would hear. Not that it would make much of a difference though. He or she is probably already perfectly aware!

What could this young lady have done to make a difference? My good friend, Ron LeGrand calls it, "Flapping your lips and making money."

How often in your practice, is the lack of saying something costing you money? Are you and your staff offering your services to the folks you need to be offering them to? The lady mentioned above at my bank had an open window to speak to me about their superior checking account that pays interest, but instead, she said nothing. Not even, "Thanks!"

Action-To-Take Tip: Monitor yourself and your staff. Seek feedback and ensure each and every member of the team is taking to heart the value of patient (customer/client) service. It's critical to referrals and new business you or they might be chasing away!