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Information from TAP, Tel-A-Patient –

THE ALTERNATIVES to MESSAGES ON HOLD

Silence – It isn’t Golden. According to AT&T, the number one complaint about phone systems are busy signals. The number two complaint is “silence-on-hold, because people say they feel “ignored””. You don’t ignore patients while they’re in your office so why would you allow them to feel ignored on-hold?
Don’t Kid Yourself – Savvy Doctors and staff know that hold time is a fact of life. Patients call with questions that involve pulling a chart, looking up insurance information, checking a billing statement or asking the back office a question. Your staff puts those callers on-hold. Use that time to provide information about your practice and your services. Keep in mind seven of the top ten criteria patients use to choose a Doctor have nothing to do with your technical skills, it’s based on how patients feel they’re treated. They want to be treated in a warm and personal way. And that’s what Tel-A-Patient does.
Music – Sales & Marketing Management Magazine asked its readers, “when you’re on-hold what do you want to hear?” 88% said they prefer hearing messages to music – 15 to 20% say they do something positive with the information they’re given. When people call you, they have questions and want answers. Why not give them a variety of commercial free music and answers to some of their questions while on hold.
Tel-A-Patient Messages – If you ever wondered what patients know about you, according to Stanford Research (SRI), they don’t know much. SRI studies show that at least half of your new patients are coming to you from word of mouth. Yet, the average patient in your practice can’t name three services you offer.
Buyers Guide – Generic, pre-recorded messages make you sound impersonal, clinical and canned. When it comes to On-Hold messages, it’s about quality. You want a message to be in your words; warm, personal and caring; Insist on being interviewed. Answering a questionnaire won’t create messages that sound like you. Tape Recorders and CD players are out! They have moving parts that wear out under the strain of continuous play. A digital system has no moving parts. Computers are overkill, on-hold messages don’t belong on your computer and you certainly don’t want to use up precious hard drive space storing large audio files.

Digital is what you want. Tel-A-Patient Builds the #1 Digital On-Hold System available.

I have been an enthusiastic Tel a Patient client for many years. They have provided superior service, the patient’s appreciate the service and it adds to our high tech image.