Have you ever checked your practice reviews on Yelp? It’s nice to see the pleasant, 5-star reviews. It’s horrifying to see anything even remotely critical. Many experts on social media will tell you to not respond to the negative comments as it will (a) sound desperate and (b) start an ugly online battle. Well, perhaps this blog is the perfect place to air grievances about some of the reviews we’ve received.
At the time of this post, I have had five people rate my practice on Yelp. Here is my review of three reviews:
(1) Ernesto A. – 5/5 Stars
“Excellent service and work. Friendly and courteous staff. Highly recommend. Fast in and out, no waiting.”
Thanks, Ernesto. You are a gentleman as well as a scholar. I hope that the heavens open up to bestow upon you a thousand blessings upon your journey.
(2) Corey D. – 4/5 Stars
“One of my wisdom teeth has been killing me so I called here today and they were able to see me during my lunch break. I did not get a cleaning so I cannot comment on that, but Chris Salierno saw me and identified the source of my problem. He did not rush me out and took a lot of time to discuss the issue and solutions with me. Bedside manner: A+. The office was very nice and modern, and clean, which naturally is naturally vitally important to me for a dentist’s office. My only complaint is that I had to wait for about 20 minutes and when I arrived there was no one at the front desk to ‘check me in’ which was slightly confusing. Overall, a very good experience.”
Corey, thanks for the mostly positive review. But why the heck are you upset that you had to wait 20 minutes for a SAME DAY EMERGENCY APPOINTMENT? And I’m sorry no one was at the front desk to greet you, but perhaps I had all of my team members running around to accommodate my regularly-scheduled patients plus the addition of your emergency.
Here’s a story: a man is walking in the desert for days. He’s dying of thirst. Fortunately he spots a truck on the horizon. The driver sees the man and races over to rescue him. As the man gets into the car he is offered a bottle of refreshing water. The man eagerly drinks the entire contents of the bottle, letting the water nourish his badly dehydrated body. He then turns to the driver and says, “I’m sorry but this water is a little too warm.”
That is the equivalent of your Yelp review, Corey.
(3) Rebecca K. – 5/5 Stars
“I switched to Broadhollow Dentistry after a co-worker suggested I try it (I was in the market for a new dentist since my current/old one just wanted to yank my wisdom teeth out even though insurance wouldn’t cover it and they weren’t even bothering me at all). The office is lovely and clean and the staff is very friendly and attentive. Dr. Salierno was very nice and funny and made me feel totally at ease, He didn’t pressure me to get my wisdom teeth out and said to leave them alone until they start to cause a problem, if they ever do, which is exactly what I wanted to hear. I’m glad I found a dentist who isn’t just willing to suck me out of my money and just tells it how it is. I highly recommend to anyone who typically hates the dentist. I think you’ll have a change of heart here.”
Rebecca, you are aces in my book. You are a gifted writer who turns even the most mundane review into pure poetry. May you live to be 100 years old.
So what did I learn from reading my Yelp reviews? Patients don’t talk about the quality of your dentistry; they talk about how you made them feel. They want to be seen on time, even when you’re squeezing them in as an emergency. Yeah, I know, it’s not fair for someone to expect to be seen immediately when they are coming in at the last minute, but that’s the way it is.
Feel free to share positive or hilariously negative reviews in the comment section below and we can vent about them.