Yesterday I went to see a local Podiatrist. This would have been my second visit to a Podiatrist. The first was a suburb away and whilst I thought the service was good at the time, this new (and closer) Podiatrist definitely stood out and caught my attention.
The day before, I made an appointment via phone for 2 weeks away. The receptionist asked if I wanted to go on the waiting list in case someone cancelled. Sure I said, not really thinking it would happen – you see if they were booked out for two weeks, they must be in demand. Around 5pm that same day I got a call – someone had cancelled, did I want to come in the following morning? You bet I did.
When I walked in, the receptionist welcomed me, told me her name was Brittany and that she was so glad I was there. Seriously? So glad I was there? We’ll see. I filled out the form and took a seat.
Waiting to see the Podiatrist I looked around the waiting room. Next to me was a shelf with glasses and mugs, tea, coffee, sugar and a jar of biscuits. A big sign read “help yourself to water, coffee and a biscuit”. I hadn’t even noticed the little bar fridge on the floor.
Free tea and coffee whilst you wait to see your Podiatrist? Simple, yet it made me take notice.
Looking further around I saw another sign offering kids to play a Play Station – just ask Brittany. A Play Station? In the Podiatrist waiting room? Boy, this guy has to be good now doesn’t he?
Well I finally saw the Podiatrist who was friendly and very professional. This part is boring and I’m sure you don’t need to know what he did step by step to my toes…..
So I leave the consult room and venture out in the welcoming waiting room once again to see Brittany. “Would you like a complimentary piece of fruit Laura?”. I’m not a big fruit eater, but I can tell you I was tempted. Just for the sake of telling people my Podiatrist hands out free fruit! Mind you of course I did tell people anyway cause it blew me away.
Now, all of this – the tea/coffee, Play Station and complimentary fruit, calling me by my name – it doesn’t cost much to the Podiatrist practice (or any business when you think about it), but the rewards are high. Here I am blogging about my Podiatrist, a somewhat odd profession (to me anyway), toes and feet aren’t really meant to have their own field are they?
It got me wondering, if only my local GP would do something like this, it’d sure make the long waits less annoying.
I know for me, I want to stand out in my business, not just for my skills or the services I offer, but for the little things that I do for my clients. Being a virtual business, I can’t offer something as tangible as tea and coffee, but there are definitely things that I can do that will make my clients feel special.
What can you do in your business to stand out from the crowd?