Wow! Moments
The art of appointment scheduling: Even making a dental appointment can create a Wow! moment
Finding a dentist in a specific location that uses nitrous oxide and accepts a member’s insurance seemed like an ordinary request, which it was, until one finds out the amount of work that went into it.
A Prialto member put it this way: “I gave Eddie (a Prialto personal assistant) an easy first task that I thought he could over deliver on, just as I would a new employee, but he found a way to artfully over deliver!
What was so impressive with how Eddie executed the task? After he narrowed down the search to a dental office that met all three requirements (location, nitrous, insurance) based on reviews he found on Yelp and other review sites, he did not stop there; he did not just pass on the information to the member and called it a day. Instead, he went further by checking the member’s calendar and picked a date and time when the member would be free. He then called the doctor’s office to make the appointment. He was told that new patients could only be scheduled after certain information has been submitted. Eddie then asked the receptionist what they needed, called the member and wrote down the information, and confirmed with the date and time of the appointment with the member. Eddie proceeded to call the receptionist, gave her the requested information, and firmed up the appointment.
Pretty thorough, huh? Well, not for Eddie. After confirming the appointment, he also took it upon himself to research parking garages in the area, their rates, and the availability of metered parking. He sent this information to the member’s email and iPhone, along with directions (with a link to a map) to the clinic.
All this was done while the member was going through his day at work, which enabled him to focus on his business instead of spending an hour or so performing the task.
Wow moment? Our member thought so.
She saved me more time than I even realized!
How do you efficiently schedule 20 separate phone interviews? Have your remote personal assistant do it!
I had a list of about 20 individuals, all located in the East Coast, with schedules as hectic as mine. Contacting them and trying to coordinate a time to talk would have taken me 2-3 hours, which I did not have. So, I turned to Remelie, my personal assistant, to manage the process. I sent her a spreadsheet containing all the contact information, and as she had access to my calendar, she proceeded to contact each person on the list. Throughout that day and in the succeeding morning, I could see my calendar updating on my iPhone. The calls were scheduled and made seamlessly throughout the week - all without interruption to my existing schedule.
What made the execution of the task memorable was not that the calls were scheduled, but that my assistant took the initiative to research some of the incorrect phone numbers that I had given her without calling me. She knew I had a busy week, so instead of asking me, she found other ways to get the information. On one occasion, she tracked down one of the candidates by searching him on Google. She found his former employer, contacted them, told them who she was and the purpose of the call, and asked them to verify the phone number she had (I had transposed a couple of numbers). They told her which two numbers were off.
I only knew about what she had done when the candidate informed me of how determined Remelie was in attempting to get the correct phone number. He was impressed. Remelie never told me what she did, as she considers this kind of follow through part of what she does. Wow!
You can’t buy that kind of follow through today. Don’t outsource just to save money. Outsource to find the right talent and attitude when you can’t find it nearby. That’s what Prialto helps you do.
Going above and beyond
One of our time managers was recently asked to find a printer with a scanning feature. This was all the information that was given. Encouraged to look beyond the information provided and to anticipate possible questions, the time manager set about completing the task. Based on reviews and the member’s requirements, he narrowed down the search to four printers. But the assistant didn’t stop there. He also compared, and found, the best prices on the Internet with reasonable shipping charges. In addition, he called an Office Max near the member’s house to see how the prices compared to those he found on the Internet minus the cost of shipping. The result was a comprehensive, detailed list that the member could act upon.
Going above and beyond what is expected is what we strive for at Prialto. Throughout our training program, and on an on-going basis, we encourage our time managers to be proactive and to think ahead. We ask them to not only answer the request, but to also think about what other questions may arise so that they may provide an actionable task that could save a member time, money, and energy.