How to use the BLAST Blueprint to Diffuse Unhappy Patients and leave them Feeling Heard and Appreciated

Kay and Shannon spell out their preferred conflict resolution system and illustrate ways you can easily implement this process in your practice.     The show notes go even deeper and are located here: Read Full Transcript It’s often said that the best teacher is your last mistake. So true...those lessons we’ve learned the hard way and the problems we’ve faced because of them. We don’t ever forget those, do we?!In the body contouring world, one of our biggest problems can be dissatisfied patients. We’ve probably learned from some of those mistakes. Whether you’ve dealt with this before or not, every one of us will have an unhappy, complaining patient from time to time in the future. These patients may be dissatisfied with something you did or didn’t do. In other words, it could be something you need to correct in your practice. While other times your only mistake was missing out on detecting the potential problem from the outset...and preventing it by not treating the patient. Either way, when you have an unhappy patient with complaints, you must diffuse the situation and resolve her complaints. How do you do that? What is the best way to manage an unhappy patient? How do we best resolve complaints?We’re taking on this topic in the episode. We’ll share our blueprint for complaint resolution. And we’ll share a couple of key offerings we use to pacify unhappy patients. Let’s get started with our Complaint Resolution Blueprint. We use the BLAST Technique of complaint resolution.This technique was developed by Albert Barneto originally for the restaurant industry. Since then, it has been utilized by all types of service industries - banking, hospitals, cpa firms, digital firms...the list goes on. We like this technique because it provides simple steps that are easy to remember. The name itself, BLAST, is an acronym. And we like this technique because it includes all the crucial steps needed to successfully resolve any type of conflict. So what is BLAST?B is for Believe L is for Listen A is for Apologize S is for Satisfy and T is for ThankLet’s break this down and show you how you use it in your body contouring practice.Start with Believing the patient. Even if you don’t think the patient’s concerns are legitimate, convey to the patient that you do believe her Even if you don’t think the patient’s feelings are valid, convey to the patient that you do believe so When your patient perceives you believe her, she believes you are working in her best interest LIsten to the patient Use your active listening skills Stay relaxed Use good eye contact Restate the patient’s concerns: “What I hear you saying is you thought you’d see more reduction?” Allow the patient to speak until she stops This should move her to a state of cooperation Then Apologize Apologize for what she is feeling You’re not admitting guilt Say something like, “I am so sorry you feel disappointed because you thought you’d see a bigger difference.” Then suggest 2 choices of resolution. This makes the patient feel like she has some control You might offer these two options “We could offer you another treatment for half price. How does that sound?” or “You could return in 4 weeks for another follow up visit at no charge. It can take many patients a little longer to see change.