When one leaves a message at a dental clinic, one expects that message to be answered. Am I right? When we at the clinic are left a message we expect to speak to the person who left the message so we can either arrange for an appointment or at least, answer a question someone might have. That seems like good business sense. It is really frustrating when you see the answering machine blinking out an indication that someone has left a message, only to press “Listen” and to hear a garbled form of a language that is unknown.
One might say that it is the fault of the answering machine; however, in this case, that is not so. We have received countless messages that are perfectly recorded, easy to hear and complete with contact details for us to return the call.
Monday morning was a case in point. I came in early to listen to the messages after the weekend, as someone usually has dental pain and is in need of attention. Sure enough, there were three messages, all complete, with name of person calling, problem stated, and a phone number for me to call back for an appointment. That was easy!
Then, there was this morning! The only 2 things that I could figure out about the message were that, firstly, it was a man who was calling and secondly, he mentioned a dental clinic with 3 crowns. I guess that´s us. There was no mention of a dental problem that I could figure from the confused message. There was no name left. There was no phone number left. I have no idea what was said or why he wanted to get in touch. And I guess he is still waiting for me to call back.
I wish I could say that this is the only example of muddled messages, but I cannot. More than once just this summer, someone left a message to say that they had dental pain, only to find that the person:
a) left no contact details;
b) left the wrong number;
c) spoke so quickly that it was impossible to understand the number;
d) mixed up the number;
e) left a number that belonged to a friend who had already left;
f) phoned from another phone and didn´t leave their number;
g) switched off their phone;
h) did not answer their phone as they were from out of the country.
I could go on, but I think you get the point. If someone leaves a message then please, do as it says on the answering machine; leave a clear message with your name and number. That way you are sure of receiving a call back from us.