Come with us, if you will, on a journey across the universe. A journey to a place where dentist-patient relationships don’t matter, and where best practices are out the window. Buckle up, because we’re about to enter… The Shopping Zone.

Consider, for a moment, The Shopper. He needs a crown. He’s not looking for the best crown. He’s looking for the cheapest crown. He’s on a race to the bottom.

Now, meet Betty. She’s worked in the dental office for 25 years, and frankly is counting the days until she can ditch the place. Here’s how she handles The Shopper:

“Dentist’s office.”

“Hey, how much are your crowns?”
“$795. We ship them overseas.”

“Okay, thanks.”

And the patient was never heard from again.

Let’s go to the other side of the universe and meet Nancy. Nancy loves her job, and is curious about patients. Let’s see how she handles The Shopper:

“Thank you for calling Happy Day Smiles. This is Nancy. How can I make you smile today?”

“Hey, how much are your crowns?”

“That is a great question and I would love to help you with that. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”

“Yeah my name is Louie.”

“Louie. Thank you so much for calling our office. What kind of crown is it that you’re looking for?”

“The one of the goes in your mouth.”

“We do many of those! And how lucky are you? Our amazing dentist has an opening on Tuesday at 11 a.m. You will see there are many cases in which a lot of our patients don’t actually need a crown.”

“Yeah, that sounds great.”

“So we’ll see you Tuesday at 11 a.m.”

And there was much rejoicing.

There are two sides to the universe: one that is good, one that is not so good. Each has a consequence, for better or worse. Our hope is that you choose the right one when you find yourself in… The Shopping Zone.