Have you ever eaten at a fancy restaurant where everything was just perfect? The host, waiter, and kitchen seemed to anticipate your ever need: there was no wait, the table was set divinely, your water glass was filled at the very moment you emptied it, and the ambiance was ideal. In these rare moments, it seems like the restaurant has a "sixth sense"-like they knew exactly what you would need at all times during your meal to have an optimal dining experience, right?

Did you know that you can use this same sixth sense when you are setting up the patient experience in your clinic? You won't be serving up filet mignon, but you will be serving up a memorable chiropractic experience that will more than satisfy even the most finicky of patients.

To help get you create this ideal setting, here are six simple ways to anticipate the needs of your patients at every step of their chiropractic experience:

1. Making the Appointment
Since anticipation is the name of the game, you need to start creating the ideal patient experience from before a patient even contacts you. You'll want to ask yourself, "How can we make it easy for a patient to contact us and make an appointment?" An appointment hotline, online access to appointment calendars, or touch-dial appointment making can speed up the scheduling process for patients. Telephone or e-mail reminders 24 hours in advance of the appointment are an excellent way to let your patient know they are in good hands with your office.

2. Arriving at Your Office
From available spaces in the parking lot to checking in with ease, the moment your patient leaves their house and heads to your office for their appointment, it's your responsibility to anticipate their needs. From providing clear and easy-to-follow directions to making sure thee are always easily accessible parking spaces close to your office is so important to start your patient's visit out on the right foot. When a patient is already disgruntled because they had to drive around for 20 minutes to find a space, you're already behind in the satisfaction game.

Additionally, make it easy for patients to know what they need to do once they've come into the office. Clear and bold signs that instruct the patient what's expected of them (e.g., sign in at the front desk) will help avoid any confusion from the second they walk in the door.

3. The Waiting Room
Creating a welcoming, interactive waiting room is a great way to make patients feel comfortable and entertained as they wait for their appointment. If you fill your waiting room with highly engaging, current, and interesting materials-from instructional videos, contemporary magazines, and informational materials-you can feel assured that the patient will become more interested in what's going on in the waiting room, then on watching the clock and wondering why it's taking so long to get in to see the chiropractor.

4. The Consultation and Appointment
When your treatment room is organized, neat, and inviting, your patients will feel at ease immediately. When you set the appropriate tone with your patients-congenial and professional-you'll demonstrate to your patients that they're in a safe place where they can trust you. Anticipate the patient's needs-from the type of seating and treatment tables you provide to the level of explanation you'll want to share regarding the specifics of their treatment. A well-informed patient is a responsive patient. Anticipate questions and answer them as succinctly as possible.

5. Leaving Your Office
How many times have you left your doctor's office and not known exactly what was expected of you. "Am I supposed to make another appointment?" "Did I need a bill?" "Do I have to 'check out'?" All of these questions can make leaving an appointment an uncomfortable experience. As a chiropractor, make sure you tell the patient exactly what is expected of them as they leave the treatment room (e.g., Please, talk to the receptionist to make your next appointment." As the receptionist or front desk staff, be sure to acknowledge everybody that comes and goes through your office doors. Double-check with all departing patients that they have what they need. This kind of special treatment will stand out in their heads and you'll be seeing them again and again.

6. The All-Important Patient Contacts
Your relationship with the patient does not end after the office visit. Follow up contact-either by phone, mail, or e-mail-is a great way to check on their progress, as well as to let them know they are in good hands with you and your staff.

For patients whom you haven't seen recently, a postcard or letter to touch base is a fantastic way to make contact and gently remind them that it might be time to come in for a routine check-up.

As you can see, anticipating your patients' needs does not mean expensive or overwhelming changes to your current practice. In fact, many of you probably are already using your sixth sense to anticipate how to respond to the best interests of your patients. For those of you who are not, it's simple to take a few minutes to assess how you are responding to your patient needs. And, when it's the difference between hamburger and filet mignon, you can't go wrong spending some extra time to make sure you're serving up only the best experience for your patients.