Extended opening hours—a good idea or not?

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Extended hours appeal to many clients but early mornings, evenings and weekends increase your operating cost. So, how do you make it work? By Frank Leggett

One of the main advantages of extended hours is the improved accessibility it offers clients. They can schedule appointments around work, family and social commitments, making it more convenient to access dental care. The disadvantages, however, include an increased staffing cost to the business and a complex rostering system. 

“The decision to offer extended hours should not be taken lightly,” says Carolyn S. Dean, a dental marketing consultant who advises start-ups, individual dental practices and major dental organisations. 

“The first thing to consider is your target market,” she says. “If these are patients who are employed and you’re only open 9am to 5pm, you’re asking them to take time out of their workday to see you. If your target market is families with preschool-age kids, empty nesters or pensioners, it’s not such a big issue. 

“The majority of people with school-age children are employed, and they’ll want the flexibility and availability of extended hours. Each practice needs to look at their current demographic and who they’re trying to attract.”

Value of extended hours

Dr Alex Maer and his wife, Esther, took over the one-chair practice, DentalCare Carnegie, in Melbourne in 2019. From the outset, they promoted their extended hours extensively. 

Today, it’s open from 8.30am to 8.30pm Monday to Friday, and 8.30am to 6.30pm Saturday and Sunday. 

Beyond that, Dr Maer and his team have committed to never saying no to an emergency, no matter how late the call. If a staff member answers an urgent patient call, they will stay back and deal with the problem.

“One of the factors that has allowed our business to grow from one dentist to 13 in five years is our extended hours,” says Dr Maer. “I look on it as a reputation builder more than a profit-making exercise. When somebody comes in at 9pm for an emergency and we look after them, they leave happy and tell all their friends and family.”

Getting the timing right

Located in inner-city Sydney, Darlinghurst Dental has a young professional demographic. It opened in 2015, run by two co-owners—principal dentist Dr Frank Farrelly and practice manager Shannon Richards. Many of their clients are time-poor so attending appointments during business hours is difficult. The practice is open 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday but on Thursday it’s open until 8pm. Saturday it is open from 10am to 2pm. 

“Our most popular appointments are first and last,” says Dr Farrelly. “8am is always hard to get and can be booked out weeks in advance. Saturday opening has been more problematic.”

The main issue is that Saturday appointments are not highly valued when up against weekend activities. 

“If people have plans for the weekend, they’ll choose to cancel their dental appointment,” says Dr Farrelly. “Even if it’s a cancellation with notice, it’s difficult to refill. The other issue is that when one long appointment is scheduled on a Saturday, it can end up costing more than it’s worth. There are times when I’ve considered stopping our Saturday opening.”

Deposit taken

Early mornings, late nights, and the weekend increases staff costs. Is it possible to put a system in place that protects the investment of resources?

“I’m seeing many practices taking credit card deposits for out-of-hours appointments,” says Carolyn Dean. “This adds value to the appointment. There must be clear communication with clients, however, that explains those extended hours are the most sought-after. In order to secure your spot, we need to take a deposit.”

Dr Maer requires a deposit from new patients for weekend appointments. If an existing patient doesn’t show up once, then a deposit is required for a second appointment. Dr Farrelly is considering a deposit for Saturday appointments but hasn’t implemented it as yet.

Impact on staff

Choosing to extend working hours does have an impact on staff. There are ways to handle the situation provided there is a willingness to work less traditional hours. Dr Maer employs university students and people without children who are happy to do late hours. Over-time payments in accordance with the award system makes this very popular.

“Filling the roster is not a problem,” he says. “Our dentists work a different number of days and hours with an expectation they will do at least one late night a week and one weekend.”

At Darlinghurst Dental, Dr Farrelly has instituted a four-day week with different staff working on different days. “It’s worked out really well,” he says. “Some do study, some take personal time, and some even work elsewhere. On the half-day Saturday, we originally employed a dentist from a nearby dental hospital but now we share the load.”

Good results

Offering extended hours does demand something of a balancing act between income, staff time, outgoings and uptake. “For the majority of practices, there’s an opportunity here,” says Dean. “But owners need to go in with their eyes open. Advertising the new hours is essential. People won’t use the service if they don’t know it’s available. Like any change in a practice, the results need to be measured, tracked and adjusted if necessary.”  

Carolyn Dean’s seven tips to getting extended hours right:

• Understand your business goals. If you have enough patients and revenue, extended hours may not be the answer.
• Understand who you are trying to attract and whether extended hours are something those clients need.
• Look at your competitors and see if there’s a gap in the market.
• Talk to staff to ascertain if there’s capability, willingness, availability and an openness to work extended hours. 
• Put all the correct systems and processes in place prior to extending hours.
• Communicate your extended hours with all your patients on all channels—website, social media, emails, SMSs. 
• Track, measure and evaluate the results against the goals you set.