MedEsthetics magazines offers business education and in-depth coverage of the latest noninvasive cosmetic procedures for physicians and practice managers working in the medical aesthetics industry.
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44 JULY/AUGUST 2015 | Med Esthetics about—and provide—nonmedical aesthetic services as well as medical procedures. "For example, everyone that I perform a facelift upon needs makeup postoperatively for a short period of time. They all get their hair washed, and the majority subsequently get their hair colored. Most plastic surgeons know next to nothing about makeup and hair services," he says. "I found that my patients would end up in salons and makeup facilities where I had no control over the quality of the advice and services. I wanted to address that and I wanted to keep that in the family." He was able to recruit Anthony DeMatteo—a local rock star hairstylist and owner of Salon DeMatteo—to his facility several years ago. Dr. O'Connell outfi tted the fi rst fl oor of his practice with a salon befi tting his talents. "The salon was designed by the same architect, and it mirrors the rest of the building so people understand the concept of comprehensive aesthetic services," says Dr. O'Connell. "We also recruited Gail Sagel, a nationally known makeup artist and beauty author. She has run an extremely successful makeup business in Westport for many years. Her business is known as Beautiful Faces. We're all separate entities but we work together and incentivize our patients to stay in the family. It's the entire aesthetic package, both medical and nonmedical all under one roof. That's my vision." Because he believes that an informed and educated patient is more likely to become a satisfi ed long-term pa- tient, Dr. O'Connell incorporates TouchMD—a software platform that can be used to highlight the practice's offer- ings, store before and after images and create procedure simulations—throughout his facility. "I have it in my exam rooms, in the waiting area, and Gail and Anthony also have it. I fi nd that it improves the experience when patients can actually see the anatomy and understand the nuances of a procedure," he says. "You can take photos of them, draw on the photos and walk a patient through the procedure with diagrams. It not only improves patient understanding but I think they enjoy learning a little more about the procedures." Finding Success One of the fi rst pieces of advice Dr. O'Connell offers to young plastic surgeons is to read the book Hug Your Cus- tomers by Westport native Jack Mitchell, who runs a chain of clothing stores called the Mitchells Family of Stores. "It's probably the best customer service book ever writ- ten and it's required reading for all of my employees. This book, along with Customers For Life by Carl Sewell and Paul Brown, tells you the little things you need to do in order to distinguish yourself from others in your industry," he says. "For instance, yesterday it was raining and I have some promotional umbrellas—so every patient of mine yesterday left the offi ce with an umbrella at no charge. That's what Jack Mitchell would call a 'hug.' There are a lot of little things you can do to improve your level of customer service and they all add up." The offi ce is always evolving and looking at new ways to better serve its patients. "We enjoy looking at new technologies but we never buy an expensive new technology without personally trying it in our hands," he says. "We've gone to EMRs but we don't have voicemail because I don't want my patients talking to a machine." Even with so much on his plate, Dr. O'Connell still fi nds time to satisfy his artistic yearnings. He's taken draw- ing, sculpting and photography courses but for the past decade he has turned much of his artistic attention to a new endeavor—restoring vintage automobiles. "I guess it's the plastic and reconstructive surgeon in me—always trying to restore what time or Mother Nature has tarnished," he says. Keith Loria is a freelance writer based in Oaktown, VA. PICTURE THIS "I don't understand doctors who think they're 'too busy' to personally do the injectables. They're literally giving their practices away." In addition to skill training, all staff members at The Aesthetic Center of Connecticut are required to read Hug Your Customers , the book on which the practice's customer service philosophy is based.