In conversation with the boy as we were walking to the basketball hoop the other day that we go to at a park nearby.
He’d overhead a work conversation where he’d heard that someone had come to see me for a consultation and decided to go somewhere else.
He’s horrified that somebody might go somewhere else and couldn’t understand.
The individual in question had been recommended by a mutual acquaintance and had come to see me for an hour-long discussion about how we might be able to help.
We had a long discussion about the possibility of an implant reconstruction to replace an upper front tooth plus some other work but also explained the difference in the practice between the level 1 and level 2 treatment. Level 1 is done by myself and Andy with a 10 year guarantee and level 2 is done by Beatriz, Maria, Nish and Angela with a 5 year guarantee.
I think that if level 2 treatment is as good as anybody’s treatment then there’s an excellent option for many, many people.
Some people want the 10 year guarantee and the guys who have done thousands of implants.
The patient in question decided to go somewhere else because it was £3,000 cheaper than having the treatment with me.
This was about the same as level 2.
Instead of going somewhere else within the practice, they decided to go somewhere else outside of the practice which is completely fine and part of the process of giving the information and asking people to choose.
Callum couldn’t understand though the different between value and cheap.
I had a lovely message from the individual saying they would love to go with me but they have gone with someone else because they are x amount cheaper.
The product is not the same although the patient perceives the product as the same.
Callum and I got into a discussion about two cans of Coca-Cola being sold beside the river by two different guys.
The cans of coke look exactly the same but the guys selling them are different.
One guy is selling the coke for £1 and the other guy for £2, which one would you buy?
Callum’s classic response to these things now is “you’ve been click-baited” “it’s the £1 can”.
What if the £1 guy is horrible to you I ask?
Callum becomes confused.
What if the two cans of coke are not the same brand I ask?
Callum becomes even more confused.
It’s my job to explain well enough to individuals the difference in what they might be buying.
Sometimes I don’t get it right and sometimes the patient refuses to make a differentiation.
Far from being some sort of emotional personal thing, this is just part of the process.
The patient went to see an individual who I have trained and who placed their first implant in my practice with me.
I think the individual is probably very safe and absolutely fine but the patient is not paying for the same product of someone who has placed 6,000 dental implants with 23 years experience and who provides a 10 year guarantee using the best possible research proven components on the market.
Commoditisation is dangerous.
Explaining commoditisation to patients is extremely complicated.
Blog Post Number - 2652
Leave a comment