Why Your Receptionist can’t do it all
(even though they, or you think they can!) 

Is your receptionist a jack of all trades?   

Are they single handedly answering the phones, booking the appointments, making reminder calls, doing shoe fittings, dispensing products, cleaning your treatment rooms and somehow finding time to process all your instruments?    

If they are, and as the saying goes, they may be the master of none.     

Now I am not saying your receptionist shouldn’t be fully capable of stepping in to help in areas outside of their main role at the front desk.  Every one of your support staff team should be able to jump in with confidence to assist when needed.   

The confidence to step in when needed is made possible with good solid cross-training and as well as the opportunity to use those skills on a regular basis.   

But how do you know it is time to add support staff because your front desk Superstar just can’t do it all anymore? 

Knowing when an over-extended receptionist needs help is crucial.   So here are some tips to help you recognize that your front desk Superstar needs some support of their own. 

• It used to be just the two of you (a great dynamic duo) but since you’ve added another practitioner to the schedule you hear an unanswered phone ringing more than usual. 

• There are a higher number of no shows than there used to be because appointment reminders aren’t high on the priority list. 

• A patient was just complaining they usually come every year for their orthotics and they missed last year because your clinic didn’t reach out like you usually do. 

• You find you are often waiting for a clean room to see the next patient in or having to jump in to clean it yourself.   

• Your dirty clinical instruments are piling up and aren’t being reprocessed in a timely manner leaving you running between rooms to find what you need for your current patient in chair. 

• Your receptionist is rarely at the front desk but can be found in any one of four different places at any time during the day.  

If any of these scenarios sounds familiar it may be time to consider reevaluating roles or bringing on a new team member. By identifying and acting on these frustrations, you can better position your business for future challenges while increasing profitability! 

Let's talk. The Foot Health Network is here to help!