About Backs & Bones is an award-winning, well-established practice based in Derby with two clinics and 12 freelance specialists. It has a team based at Oberoi Business Hub answering calls managing appointment bookings 7 days a week.
Business owner, Paula Collier- Ward said: “Turnover grows year on year. There are a lot of driving factors behind this, but having Oberoi to take calls is one of them.”
The business challenge
The clinic’s opening hours did not match standard office hours – for example, it opens in the evenings – so employing a receptionist was not feasible and was financially unviable.
Business owner Paula Collier-Ward used to field calls herself until this became unsustainable. There was a host of challenges associated with not having a call-answering service. These included:
- The inability to constantly man the phone while administering treatments and running a household meant calls were missed
- Background noise created an unprofessional environment
- Lost bookings – insufficient call answering capacity often resulted in the business going to other practices
- Wasted administration time responding to new messages where the individual had already booked in with another clinic
- The need to constantly manage bookings, check for client queries and respond to them
- Managing and trying to overcome the stress that builds up from not having enough downtime.
“I had to divert the line to my home number, but that would mean I couldn’t run out to the shop if I had to, and there was often domestic noise in the background. I tried using a referral system with a local gym and, although it was helpful, it didn’t bridge the gap.
“We are legally regulated specialists. Ad-hoc telephone availability did not fit our professional image. I needed somebody to take calls in a quiet environment,” Paula explained.
Being the first point of contact for all enquiries took its toll on Paula. Even employing a receptionist part-time would be insufficient to meet the needs of the business as well as unviable. She needed a full-time service, without shouldering employment overheads or compromising the personal service her clients received from her.
Before finding Oberoi Business Hub on the internet, Paula had unfortunately experienced a poor service from two other call-answering services. These issues were caused by:
- Inadequate telephone skills for Backs & Bones customers
- An obvious call centre atmosphere
- Lack of local knowledge for giving clients directions.
“When I met Kavita my confidence was restored and I took the plunge again. This time, things went well,” commented Paula.
The solution
The services Backs & Bones primarily use are:
- Call answering
- Managing the diaries of specialists and the practice – including making, amending and cancelling appointments
- Matching patients with treatments
- Recording and amending patient information
- Providing practice information including directions and opening hours.
The results
“Turnover grows year on year. There are a lot of driving factors behind this, but having Oberoi to take calls is one of them.
“The service we receive from Oberoi is seamless and customers do not realise that Backs& Bones do not have an in-house receptionist until they walk into the clinic and look for one. I feel so much better in myself too, because I can concentrate on my area of expertise rather than having to man the telephones for two clinics,” concluded Paula.
The team at Oberoi Business Hub tailor the services provided so that they are fully integrated – giving the impression that the services are delivered in-house. This benefits both the patients and the therapists. For example, if a treatment specialist starts at 2pm, but their first appointment is not until 2.30pm, a member of Oberoi’s team informs them of this, so they do not have to arrive at work earlier than needed.