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Management

The Mystery Shopper Challenge: What We Found Calling 50 Dental Clinics

10/12/2024
8 min read

Over the past 30 days, our team called 50 dental clinics pretending to be patients. The results revealed a massive opportunity - and a serious problem.

The Idea

Before building Krooa, we needed to understand a real problem. We didn't want to create another "practice management software" based on assumptions.

So we did something simple: we called 50 dental clinics in major US cities, pretending to be patients wanting to schedule a cleaning.


The Methodology

  • 50 clinics randomly selected from Google Maps (4.0+ rating)
  • Call times: 10am-12pm and 2pm-5pm (business hours)
  • Standard question: "Hi, I'd like to schedule a cleaning. Do you have availability this week?"
  • Metrics: Response time, follow-up, response quality

  • The (Scary) Results

    1. Response Time

    Result% of Clinics
    Answered in under 30 seconds18%
    Answered between 30s and 2 minutes24%
    Went to voicemail / no answer34%
    Answered but asked to call back later24%

    Only 18% of clinics answered quickly. The rest? Lost a patient.

    2. Follow-up

    Of the 34% that didn't answer, how many called back?

    Zero.

    No clinic called back. Not via text, not via email, not via phone.

    3. Service Quality

    Of those who answered:

  • 62% seemed rushed or disinterested
  • 23% were polite but didn't offer specific times ("call back tomorrow")
  • 15% provided excellent service (offered times, asked preferences, confirmed details)

  • What This Means in Dollars

    Let's do simple math:

  • Average value of a new patient: $3,000/year (cleanings, treatments, referrals)
  • Missed calls per month (conservative estimate): 20
  • Conversion rate if answered: 30%
  • Revenue lost per month: $18,000

    Per year? $216,000 walking out the door.

    And this is conservative. Larger practices lose much more.


    Why This Happens

    We talked to 10 dentists after the test. The answers were consistent:

  • "My front desk was busy with a patient checking in"
  • "We get so many spam calls, sometimes we just ignore them"
  • "I can't afford to hire someone just to answer phones"
  • "I know we miss calls, but I don't know what to do"
  • The problem isn't lack of awareness. It's lack of a viable solution.


    The Opportunity

    Here's what motivated us to create Krooa:

    82% of clinics are leaving money on the table simply because they can't answer the phone in time.

    It's not a marketing problem. It's not lack of patients wanting to book. It's a response capacity problem.

    And the solution doesn't have to be "hire more people". It needs to be respond instantly, 24/7, without increasing fixed costs.


    What We Did Differently

    After this study, we designed Krooa with three principles:

  • Response in under 30 seconds — Always. Even at 3am.
  • Smart qualification — The AI asks what's needed and books directly.
  • Don't replace people — The front desk keeps doing in-person work. Krooa handles the phone.

  • Want to Know How Your Practice Performs?

    We do this same test for free for practices that want to understand their reality.

    We call, evaluate, and send a complete report.

    No commitment. No catch.

    Request My Mystery Shopper Test


    Full methodology and raw data available upon request.

    Free Audit

    Discover How Your Practice Responds

    We conduct a mystery shopper test on your practice. We contact you pretending to be a patient and then send you a complete report analyzing your service performance.

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