Why does my cosmetic surgery practice miss so many calls?
By the Margin Media team · Updated
A cosmetic surgery practice misses calls because the people who answer the phone are also the people sitting with patients. The coordinator is in a consultation, the front desk is checking someone in, and the line rings out. Calls also arrive at lunch, after five and at weekends, when patients are free and the practice is not.
When are the calls being missed?
They are missed at the hours patients are free to make a private call. Lunch is one. The drive home is another. Saturday morning is a third. Add the times the desk is simply busy, with a patient at the counter and a second line ringing, and the gaps cover a good part of the week.
You can measure it without any tools. Call your own practice at 12:15, at 5:40 and on Saturday morning. Do not tell the team. Count the rings and listen to what a new patient would hear.
What does a missed call cost?
It costs a consultation, some of the time, and you can put your own figure on it. Take the missed calls in a week, multiply by the share of callers who would have booked, then by the share of consultations that go ahead, then by what a procedure is worth to the practice. Use your numbers, not anyone else's.
What are the ways to cover the phone?
There are three honest options, and each suits a different practice. Pick by where your gaps are in the week, not by which option happens to be newest.
- Stagger breaks and add front desk hours. Best when the gaps are small and inside the working day.
- Use an answering service. A person takes a message at any hour, though not every service can book the consultation.
- Use an AI receptionist. It answers every call at once and can book, but it is not a person, and some callers will ask for one.
How does Margin cover the phones for a cosmetic surgery practice?
Mia, Margin's AI receptionist, answers every call day or night, or only the ones your team misses. You keep your number. She answers questions, takes messages, books the consultation onto the portal calendar and tells the office. Asked if she is an AI, she says yes, and when a caller wants a person she tells your team and steps aside.
A caller who hangs up is texted back within a minute from the practice's own texting number. That part starts once phone carriers approve the number, which takes days to a couple of weeks.
What Margin sets up for this.
- Mia, the AI receptionist, on every call
- Missed calls texted back within a minute
- Booking onto your calendar
What a business needs is decided on its audit. It is a one-time setup fee and a monthly fee, with exact numbers on the audit.
How Margin works for cosmetic and elective medical practicesSee the portal with a sample businessThe Surgery Accelerator, for plastic surgeons
Related questions
Do patients leave voicemails for a cosmetic surgery practice?
Some do, but a new patient enquiring about cosmetic surgery is making a private, slightly nervous call. Leaving their name and the procedure on a recording is a lot to ask. Check your voicemail against your missed-call log to see the gap.
How can I see how many calls my cosmetic surgery practice misses?
Ask your phone provider for a call log showing answered and unanswered calls by hour. A cosmetic surgery practice can also test it by calling its own line at lunch, after five and on Saturday morning and counting the rings.
Should a cosmetic surgery practice forward calls to a mobile after hours?
It works for a small practice if the person holding the phone can truly answer and book. In a cosmetic surgery practice that means the owner or coordinator is on call every evening, which is hard to keep up for long.