Building in contingencies

Dr Mark HassedA while ago I was visiting a practice and there was a major screaming match going on at the front desk.It turned out that the dentist had quoted $1,600 for a crown. During the preparation the old filling had come out and so the dentist had made a core. The dentist added $250 to the fee.The patient felt cheated and rightly so in my view. They had been quoted one fee and at the front desk handed an account for a higher amount.That leads me to an excellent rule to live by: Always quote high.If you think an extraction might be a surgical quote for a 324. If you think a core might be needed add it to the quote. If you think a filling might need cusp coverage add it in.You can always bring your fee down and patients are delighted when you do so.But if you go up you risk a major negative incident with a patient.When you prepare a quote do you always quote high? 

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Financial efficiency

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Empathy. Useful or not? (part 2)