A phone that never stops for a twenty-minute appointment
Since GP surgeries stopped routinely offering wax removal in many areas, microsuction and irrigation have become a steady stream of work for hearing clinics. It is good work, and it brings new people through the door. It also brings the phone calls.
Is it microsuction or irrigation? How much? Do both ears cost more? Do I need to use olive oil first? Can I come today? Is there parking? Each call is short, but there are a lot of them, and the receptionist is also checking in hearing test patients and handling repairs.
Why wax removal overwhelms the desk
- The same handful of questions is asked in almost every call, and the answers are not on the website in a findable place.
- Booking requires checking pre-visit questions, such as recent ear surgery or a perforated eardrum, which the receptionist asks by phone and writes down.
- Consent forms are completed on paper in the waiting room, which slows the appointment.
- Wax appointments are short, so small delays stack up across the day.
- No-shows are common for low-cost appointments booked on impulse.
The hidden cost of phone booking
Every phone booking takes receptionist time the clinic does not charge for, and interrupts other patients at the desk. Paper consent completed on arrival eats into a short slot. And when a wax patient turns up with an answer that means the clinician would rather not proceed, the slot is lost and the patient is annoyed.
| Step | By phone and paper | Online, before the visit |
|---|---|---|
| Common questions | Answered one call at a time | Answered on the booking page |
| Pre-visit screening questions | Asked verbally, written down | Answered in the booking form |
| Answers that need a clinician | Discovered at the appointment | Flagged for a call before the day |
| Consent | Paper form in the waiting room | Completed online, stored with the booking |
| Payment or deposit | Taken on the day | Optional deposit at booking, if your policy wants one |
The booking flow we build
- A booking page for wax removal, linked from your website and Google Business Profile, shows available slots from your diary for the clinicians who do this work.
- The page answers the common questions in your own words: methods offered, what the appointment involves, what it costs, what to do beforehand according to your clinical team's guidance.
- The booking form asks the pre-visit questions your clinicians set. Answers that your rules say need a clinician's review stop the automatic booking and send the request to a clinician to call the patient.
- Consent is completed online and attached to the appointment, so the clinician sees it when the patient arrives.
- A confirmation and reminder go out by text or email, with a link to move or cancel.
- An optional deposit or pay-at-booking step through Stripe or your card provider, if you decide to use one.
- Wax patients are offered a hearing check or asked if they would like information, only where they tick a box to say so.
We connect the booking page to your existing diary where it allows. If your practice management system has no booking interface, we use a booking tool that can sync with it or give the desk a single screen to confirm requests.
A quieter desk, a smoother list
Most wax patients book themselves without a phone call. The ones who do ring are the ones with a genuine question. Clinicians start each wax appointment with the screening answers and consent already in front of them. Patients whose answers need a conversation get a call before the day rather than a wasted trip.
Is wax removal taking over your phone?
- Most calls to the clinic are about wax removal price and availability.
- Pre-visit questions are asked verbally and written on paper.
- Consent forms are filled in on arrival.
- Patients sometimes arrive and cannot be treated because of something that could have been asked earlier.
- Short wax appointments regularly run late.