surgery scent

Re: surgery scent

Martin Atkinson — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 16:27:41 GMT

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"] Total agreement with Gillian, though I'd add client who's a heavy garlic eater[/quote] At risk of sounding as though I'll be supporting Mr Farage at the next election, in addition to the noisy dog they keep out of doors all day long next to the wall of my consulting room, the Asian family next door seem to cook up pots of curry all day long, the smell of which finds a way of infiltrating into our premises when the wind is blowing in the right (or rather wrong) direction, which is rather frequently. To start with this made me feel hungry now it just makes me feel nauseous and has put me off Indian food, and it is difficult without sounding racist to explain to clients why the waiting and consulting rooms smell like an Indian restaurant. Given the neighbour became aggressive and insinuated I was racist when I suggested he may like to keep his dog indoors, especially when fireworks were going off, I feel asking his wife to restrict her cooking habits may not go down too well!

Re: surgery scent

Hannah Wynne Richards — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 14:17:01 GMT

Total agreement with Gillian, though I'd add client who's a heavy smoker/garlic eater/poor personal hygiene to that list.

Afew years ago, I was less than intelligent when putting up Christmas decorations. I put a tree on the floor in 1 corner of the waiting room. Every male dog mistook it for a lamp-post !!!!!!!!!!!!!! We ended up joking that our patients were boasting to other dogs, " My veterinary surgeon has an indoor loo for dogs " I've been banned from interfereing with decorations ever after.

Wynne

Re: surgery scent

Bob Russell — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 14:03:22 GMT

Cannot think of particular smells to encourage business (perhaps our rather good coffee is a bonus) but smells are a big 'turn off'! Cat pee, anal gls and poo of any denomination are not good news!

Ventilation, not using febreze and lightly scented disinfectants work reasonably. An occasional apology acknowledging an unavoidable odour can be needed!

Some more experienced members of staff remember Ozium and always associate it with anal glands!

Re: surgery scent

patrick murphy — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 13:57:28 GMT

it's not that I do not keep my practice clean, it was just that the impression of a range of products was so dramatically infuenced by the use of smell, I just wondered if anyone had ever looked at it 'scientifically' or objectively?

Re: surgery scent

Gillian Mostyn — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 17:41:48 GMT

Why does the first dog of the day either need its anal sacs empying or just sits and s**ts in the waiting room????

Re: surgery scent

Mark Holmes — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 15:55:01 GMT

I've gad clients complain bitterly about smells but I think on the whole they understand. There isn't always something you can do .

Re: surgery scent

Martin Atkinson — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 15:54:01 GMT

We make a point of getting rid of nasty niffs and keeping the surgery as clean as possible but don't want it to smell too antiseptic. It takes no more than just being generally clean and clearing up excrement asap plus the odd spray with air freshener and the strategic use of extractor fans. The test is to walk outside and come back in as its surprising how you get used to the smell. Ours is neutral or just the smell of floor cleaner, the last person's after-shave/perfume or body odour (another one to get rid of quickly) but it rarely smells of animals. If it does I apologise to the next client.

Re: surgery scent

Mark Hedberg — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 13:52:09 GMT

[quote user="patrick murphy"]

having watched the bbc programme last week on marketing techniques, I was stunned at the inportance of smell and people's impression of everything from value, competence, happiness etc. to the point that my staff were talking about it today. I was going to post this, thought twice, however just wondered if anyone had done any research on this as it might apply to us? even the corporates? any thoughts or tips?

[/quote]

It's not a new concept - 'cleanliness is next to godliness' - and a place that smells 'bad' automatically brings an impression of poor hygiene; have you ever been into a fish shop that smells of rotting fish? Bet you wouldn't shop there! :) Science is very useful, yes; but humans make purchase decisions based on emotion - that's why cat food often looks like gourmet cuisine!