When Service is More Than Just “a Service”

A Case Study: Wild Family Dentistry
 
How many times have you been told, “We can give you/do that same service for less?” How many times has it truly turned out to be the same level of services? How can similar services be so vastly different? It’s like a restaurant. You can go to a fantastic restaurant, have a delicious dinner with a server that is attentive, kind, and helpful, and you will have an enjoyable experience. You can also visit the same location, eat the same food, cooked by the same chef, and have a different server who is apathetic, useless, or even rude – your experience will be vastly different.
 
This was the situation Dr. Paul Wild, of Wild Family Dentistry in Mendota Heights, found himself in when approached by another IT company. Wild had been a client of Sunset Technologies since May 2008. As a dentist, his focus is – as it should be – on his clients. He went to school to be a doctor, not to manage his IT infrastructure. Wild explained, “I am not familiar with all the things that go on in the background: firewalls, backups, and malware. I just wanted to have the dental stuff work – the cameras, x-rays, and program management.”
 
When this other company offered the same service for less, Dr. Wild thought a service, is a service, is a service. “If they could do the same thing for less, then why not?” Wild transferred the management of his practice’s IT infrastructure to the new IT company. Unfortunately for both parties, this was also the time the practice began having problems with their intraoral cameras, which is a central foundation for today’s general dentists.
 
“There always seemed to be one issue after another. The IT company offered suggestions of things to buy to fix the problems which worked for a few days, but then new issues arose.” Dr. Wild explained that after multiple failed attempts, he suggested that the cameras could be faulty. It was then that he contacted the manufacturer and resolved the issue on his own.
 
As Wild Family Dentistry continued to grow, it was time to move. Dr. Paul Wild, and his daughter, Dr. Laura Wild, sat down with their IT company to discuss the technological ramifications of the move. Frustratingly, they were given a substantial quote, without discussion of the needs and reasoning of the services being sought.
 
At this point, Dr. Laura offered to bring in a “friend” who also works in the IT field. This friend sold them on great service, as Dr. Wild described, “They sold themselves as the greatest thing since sliced bread! Regrettably, they have been absolutely terrible to work with. We don’t even speak the same language, I don’t understand their tech-speak, and they don’t seem to want to help me try.”
 
In addition to awful service, “they don’t deliver on their promises,” and it’s “rock bottom absolute lies – as simple surge protectors.” Dr. Wild realized as they were moving in that there were no surge protectors. When he questioned the IT company, they told Dr. Wild the contractors should be handling that on a per-suite level basis. However, when Dr. Wild spoke with their contractor, they said “absolutely not, I would never recommend that we never do that.”
 
When it comes to situations like this, as a doctor with an IT company to support you, you should not be responsible for bringing concerns like this to light. IT is not your forte; it is their job. “They just didn’t get that,” Dr. Wild said, “They expected me to provide the instruction manuals and computer specified requirements to get me digital signature pads!”
 
“At this point, I knew I was done,” Dr. Wild told Dr. Laura, “Whatever it takes to get out of it, do it. I’m going back to Sunset if they’ll have me.” Of course, Sunset was thrilled to have Dr. Wild and his practice back. He said, “When Laura takes over, I’ve told her, ‘If IT issues come up, don’t even think about leaving!”
 
With Sunset Dr. Wild knows he doesn’t have to worry about his IT; he doesn’t have to think about any of it. We are going to explain things to him in the simplest terms and in plain English, so he understands what we are doing and why we are doing it.
 
We are a team, and we have their back.
 
This is how Dr. Wild and Dr. Laura can Rest Assured. This is the service that Sunset provides. This is how we are the server that provides an attentive, kind, and helpful experience.
 
Welcome Home Wild Family Dentistry, We’ve Missed You!