Dental Office Design and Branding – Receptionist as Concierge

Dental office blue chairThe first thing that a patient notices when entering a dental office is usually the receptionist. In this scenario, first impressions are important. The way that your patient interacts with the receptionist is usually going to inform the rest of the experience. If the receptionist is warm and friendly, your patient will feel more at home. Unfortunately, a warm experience isn’t what every patient takes away from a dentist’s office. Sometimes, these experiences are partially due to poor dental office design.

Consider how much better it would be to enter a dental office to a desk rather than an ominous counter or even glass that separates the receptionist from the clients. You might want to think about how hotels are run, with a concierge at the front rather than a receptionist.

 

When your patient walks in, it’s important that they don’t feel shut off from the staff. Too much of a divider between your receptionist and the patients can make the patient feel like they are intruding or unwelcome. That’s the last feeling that you want to give someone when planning dental office design.

 

A lot of people already have some amount of anxiety when it comes to visiting the dentist. Getting away from huge dividers can help ease some of that before the client makes their way back to the doctor. Keep in mind that the more comfortable your patients are, the more likely they are to return.

 

When it comes to setting up your front desk area, you might want to consider moving away from large counters or even glass walls that hide your receptionist. Think about something warmer and friendlier. If you think about your receptionist as a concierge, it could make the whole experience better for everyone involved. Dental office design is important to get right. It can change someone’s entire experience and in this business, first impressions are everything.