Answers
Short, plain answers to the questions clinic managers ask most.
Answers
How many times should you call a referral before returning it?
Answer. Three tries, each followed by an email, then return the referral to the doctor who sent it, with every attempt written down.
How to cut no-shows without overbooking
Answer. Confirm every appointment 72 business hours ahead, release the slot at 48 if nobody answers, and fill it from a cancellation list.
What to do when referral faxes pile up
Answer. Count the pile, pull out the urgent ones with a short checklist, then split filing from calling so the same staff clear it in about half the time.
How to stop one person being your whole front office
Answer. Write down what that person knows, turn it into short checklists and training, and split their work into queues anyone trained can run.
How to fit urgent patients into a full schedule
Answer. Free slots with a confirm-or-release routine, keep a cancellation list, and when an urgent patient arrives, move one routine patient and put them at the top of the list.
How fast should a contractor call back a new lead?
Answer. Within minutes during business hours, by the first hour at the latest, with a text straight away if the call is missed.
Why do sold jobs stall before the crew shows up?
Answer. Because jobs reach production missing pieces from the sale. A gate between sold and scheduled fixes it.
When should a change order be signed?
Answer. Before the extra work starts, on site, with a photo, a price and the customer's approval.
How do you know a job is over budget before it's finished?
Answer. Compare hours used with percent complete. If you have used more of the budget than you have finished, the job is burning faster than plan.
Should estimators price from packages?
Answer. For repeatable work, yes: a few defined packages with controlled options, and the estimator's judgement saved for the property and the customer.
How much do empty miles cost a trucking company?
Answer. Every empty mile costs about what a loaded one does to run, and earns nothing. Add them up by lane and you will see what they really cost you.
How do you charge detention without losing the customer?
Answer. With timestamps, agreed terms and a conversation about the account, not a surprise line on the invoice.
What happens when your best dispatcher leaves?
Answer. Everything they knew leaves with them, unless you have written it down as rules before they go.
How do you stop 'where's my truck?' calls?
Answer. Give every load a standard set of driver milestones, and let customers and customer service read the status without calling dispatch.
How do you get paid faster after delivery?
Answer. Capture the proof of delivery at the dock and send the invoice the same day, from a load record that is already complete.
Is a 4x ROAS good?
Answer. It depends on what each order leaves after discounts, fees, product cost, shipping and returns. ROAS cannot tell you that. Contribution can.
Why did a record revenue month leave less cash?
Answer. Because revenue is not cash. Stock paid for in advance, discounts, refunds and low-margin products can all grow faster than the money coming in.
How do you work out contribution margin per order?
Answer. Start with what the customer paid, then take away every cost the order brings with it. What is left is contribution.
When should you reorder inventory?
Answer. When the days of stock you have left reach your supplier's lead time plus a safety buffer, counted with the marketing you have planned, not just last month's sales.
Which products should you stop advertising?
Answer. The ones that lose money after every cost, come back too often, or are about to run out. Put each product on a profit card and the list writes itself.
How do you forecast restaurant covers?
Answer. Start from the same day last week and last year, add the bookings already on the books, then adjust for events, holidays, weather and promotions. Write it by daypart, the day before.
How do you cut restaurant no-shows?
Answer. Confirm every booking, remind before peak, make cancelling easy, release unconfirmed tables on a fixed rule and refill them from a waitlist. Take deposits only where demand is highest.
When should you send staff home early?
Answer. When covers at a set check time are clearly below forecast, by a rule you wrote before the shift. Decide who goes first, who decides and when, so it is not a judgement call in a quiet room.
Is a direct booking worth more than an OTA booking?
Answer. Usually, once commission is taken off. A direct booking at a lower rate can leave more than an OTA booking at a higher one. Compare what each leaves after channel cost, not the rate.
How do you stop over-prepping food?
Answer. Prep from tomorrow's forecast covers and a par per item, subtract what is already made, and record waste by reason. Overproduction then shows up as a forecast or prep problem you can fix.
How fast should a local business reply to an enquiry?
Answer. Within a minute for the first reply, in opening hours. It does not have to be the whole answer, but it has to be real and end with a way to book.
How do you get clients to rebook?
Answer. Offer the next visit before they pay, with a real date. Follow up with the ones who did not book, timed to when the service is really due.
How do you fill last-minute cancellations?
Answer. Keep a standby list, offer the slot to it in a fixed order the moment it frees up, then to clients who are due soon. Decide the order before it happens.
What should a no-show policy say?
Answer. When clients must cancel by, what happens if they do not, which services need a card or deposit, how you remind them, and what staff can waive. Short, clear, and sent before the visit.
How many clients do you lose without noticing?
Answer. More than most owners think: enquiries nobody answered, clients who never rebooked, and regulars who drifted off. You can count each one in a week.
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