The 12th most commonly mentioned new patient complaint: Practice environment. 

It may not be fair, but patients use environmental aspects of your practice as a proxy for your clinical skills. (Low rent may work against you!) It’s not accurate, but it goes something like this: if they (you) overlook the details of a professional setting, what else are they overlooking?

Here are a few of the things patients called out:

Poor signage – Amazingly, some patients mentioned difficulty finding the practice.

First impressions – Others mentioned that the office furnishings were getting a bit long in the tooth or “were from a previous century.”

Temperature – Too hot. Too cold. Apparently, patients expect you to have a handle on climate control in every room of your practice.

Sounds – Thin walls and inappropriate music (usually too loud) were frequently mentioned.

Smells – This included failed attempts at aromatherapy, candles, and the pizza parlor next door.


Previous | Next

Bill Esteb, a passionate chiropractic advocate since 1981, brings a fresh perspective to the profession as Patient Media’s creative director and co-founder of Perfect Patients. With 12 insightful books examining the doctor-patient relationship, he inspires chiropractors worldwide as a chiropractic speaker, through his chiropractor coaching program, and consulting. Since 1999 Monday Morning Motivation has been emailed weekly to over 10,000 subscribers, sparking breakthroughs across the chiropractic community.

Email Bill