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The First Ten Seconds: Greetings, Names and the Front Desk
Before a patient sees the physician, NP or PA, they meet your front desk. Those first seconds tell them whether they are a guest or an interruption. Here is what the research says patients want, and a simple standard any team can adopt by Monday.
Start here: the questions this brief answers
Tap a question for the short answer, then jump to the evidence.
The patient experience starts long before the exam room, and the front desk is where it usually goes right or wrong. Nearly every patient in a Northwestern study wanted to be greeted by name, yet in first visits only about half of physicians used the patient's name. The national survey patients take about their doctor's office asks two questions about office staff: were they helpful, and did they treat you with courtesy and respect. Hotels solved this decades ago with a simple standard: a warm greeting using the guest's name, anticipation of needs, and a warm goodbye. A membership practice can adopt the same standard by Monday. It costs nothing but attention.
“If a patient is paying for a relationship, the first thing they should hear is their own name, not a question about their appointment. Your front desk isn't a checkpoint. It's the opening scene of your brand.”
Do patients really care how they are greeted?
Yes. In a Northwestern study of 415 people, nearly all wanted to be greeted by name and 78% wanted a handshake. In videos of first visits, only about half of physicians used the patient's name.
Go to the full answer ↓How is the front desk measured?
The CG-CAHPS patient survey asks how often clerks and receptionists were as helpful as patients thought they should be and treated them with courtesy and respect.
Go to the full answer ↓What should our first words be?
Not "Do you have an appointment?" Try the patient's name and a welcome. Part 4 has a full list of phrase swaps from CMT's No More Waiting Rooms.
Go to the full answer ↓What can we borrow from hotels?
The Ritz-Carlton's Three Steps of Service: a warm and sincere greeting using the guest's name, anticipating needs, and a fond farewell using the name again.
Go to the full answer ↓Does this matter for an NP or PA practice too?
Yes. The greeting standard applies to every clinician and staff member a patient meets.
Go to the full answer ↓The visit starts before the visit
Your patient has already done a lot to get here. Taken time off. Found parking. Maybe arranged child care. Then they walk up to the desk.
What happens in the next ten seconds tells them whether they’re a guest or an interruption.
The national survey many practices use to measure patient experience, CG-CAHPS, asks patients two questions about office staff: how often were clerks and receptionists “as helpful as you thought they should be,” and how often did they “treat you with courtesy and respect.”1 Practice Insight An MGMA article on these surveys notes that a “friendly smile along with a greeting is expected.”2
And the stakes are real. In a 2023 Ipsos survey for MDVIP, a concierge company, one in three U.S. adults 26 and older said they had skipped or delayed care in the past five years because of a bad experience or an inability to get a timely appointment.3 Population Data
Hospitality is a process. But the patient should never feel processed.
A line Michael Tetreault uses throughout No More Waiting Rooms.4
Say their name
Northwestern University researchers asked 415 people how they wanted to be greeted by a doctor, then watched more than 120 videos of first-time primary care visits.5 Practice Insight
Read that again. Nearly everyone wanted to hear their name. Half the time, they didn’t.
The fix isn’t complicated. Know who’s coming. Learn how they like to be addressed. Write it in the chart. Use it at the desk, in the hallway and in the exam room.
What a hotel standard can teach a medical office
The Ritz-Carlton trains every employee on three Steps of Service:6 Industry Research
A warm and sincere greeting
“Use the guest’s name.”
Anticipation and fulfillment of each guest's needs
Its service values add: be responsive to “expressed and unexpressed wishes and needs.”
Fond farewell
“Give a warm good-bye and use the guest’s name.”
Here’s the thing. None of that requires a marble lobby. It requires a decision that the first and last moments of every visit matter, and a team trained to deliver them.
In college, Michael Tetreault spent two summers working in the president’s office of his Tennessee alma mater. On day one, a woman named Lena told him: “Around here, no matter who comes in this office, they are a VIP. Whether they’re a lost student with ripped up jeans or our largest donor, we offer them something to drink and a seat at the table.”
Decades later, he still asks the same question of medical offices: when was the last time a practice treated everyone that way?
From Remark-ology (2025).7
The first words patients hear
Picture a mother who took time off work and must pick up her kids in 90 minutes, or pay $1 a minute, per child, for every minute she’s late. That’s a true story. The first words she hears at your desk shouldn’t be “Do you have an appointment?” or “Name, please.”
From No More Waiting Rooms (2024).4
One concierge patient put it even more plainly: “If I’m paying any amount of a monthly [or annual] subscription to see my doctor, you better know my name when I arrive and I sure shouldn’t have to tap on the glass when I walk in.” The same patient asked practices to move phone calls away from the front so patients don’t overhear prescriptions and referrals being called in.7
Phrase swaps for the front desk
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| “Do you have an appointment?” | “Let’s get you on the calendar!” (or, better, greet them by name because you were expecting them) |
| “Can I have a name?” | “Spell that wonderful last name for me, please.” |
| “When was the last time you were here?” | “We can’t wait to see you again. How long has it been since you were here?” |
| “What’s the problem?” | “How can I help make your day better?” |
| “I don’t know.” | “Great question! I will find the answer for you.” |
| “That’s not my job.” | “That might be out of my knowledge set. I know [colleague’s name] who can help. Let me connect you.” |
| “Calm down.” | “That would upset me, too. Here’s how I can help.” |
| “No, I can’t do that.” | “While we’re unable to do that, here’s what we can do.” |
| “We will call you.” | “Would you mind if I look into this further and follow up in [time]?” |
CMT original: adapted from the phrase list in No More Waiting Rooms (2024).4 Evidence type: Practice Insight.
A ten-second standard your team can adopt by Monday
Know who's coming
Review the day's schedule in the morning huddle. Note new members, preferred names and anything the team should know.
Look up, stand if you can, say their name
No patient should wait at the desk to be acknowledged. Make eye contact and use the name they prefer.
Anticipate one need
Water, a coat hook, a quiet seat, an update if the clinician is running behind.
Say goodbye by name
The last moment of the visit is remembered too. Walk them out when you can.
- Write the four steps on a card at every workstation.
- Add a "preferred name" field to your intake and use it.
- Role-play three of the phrase swaps in your next huddle.
A great welcome makes word of mouth easier. Plan who you want walking through that door next.
Free. No sign-up. Your answers stay in your browser. Step 3 of CMT's Learn, Build, Lead tools. It helps you pick the patient segments that fit your practice, find where they are, plan conversations with local physicians, check that your message sounds like care rather than a pitch, and leave with a 90-day plan.
Greeting patients by name is compatible with privacy, but avoid discussing health details where others can hear. Ask your compliance adviser how your layout and sign-in process protect patient information. This brief is educational and is not legal advice.
First impressions count
The desk is the opening scene of every visit.
Train the standard
Greeting, anticipation, farewell. Every patient, every time.
Model it
Physicians, NPs and PAs who greet staff and patients by name set the tone.
How this brief was built
This brief draws on a Northwestern University study of greetings in medical encounters (Archives of Internal Medicine, 2007) as reported by the university, the CG-CAHPS office staff items as published in Medical Care (2016), an MGMA practice article, the Ritz-Carlton's published Gold Standards, a 2023 Ipsos survey for MDVIP, and CMT's books. Phrase swaps are CMT original content from No More Waiting Rooms (2024). The patient comment in Part 4 is reported in Remark-ology (2025); the patient is not named.
How to read the evidence types
Every key finding is labeled by evidence type. Labels describe the type of evidence, not its value. Each type answers different questions. Funding is disclosed on every source.
Randomized trials and systematic reviews.Best for cause and effect.
Large observational studies and government data.Best for trends at scale.
Surveys, smaller studies and expert consensus.Best for real-world experience.
Company-sponsored or company-reported data that is not peer-reviewed.Best for early signals and operating data.
Statutes, regulation and official guidance.Best for what is required.
What we don't know
- Whether greeting patients by name changes retention or referrals in membership practices; studies measure preferences, not outcomes.
- Patient preferences for name use and handshakes may have shifted since 2007, including after the pandemic.
- How patients from different cultures and age groups prefer to be addressed. Ask, and record the answer.
How to cite this brief
External review: this brief has not yet been reviewed by an outside expert. When review is complete, the reviewer is credited by name above with any conflicts of interest, and the version number is updated. Reviewers check accuracy and fairness; CMT is responsible for the final content.
Corrections policy: when an error is identified, CMT corrects it in the open and updates the version number above. Send corrections to the editor through conciergemedicinetoday.net.
Related CMT Research Briefs
References
- Stucky BD, Hays RD, Edelen MO, Garvey J, Brown JA. Possibilities for shortening the CAHPS Clinician and Group Survey. Medical Care. 2016;54(1):32-37. Table 2 lists the CG-CAHPS office staff items. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govFunding: federal (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Award 2U18HS016980)
- Jarrett SM. Survey says: achieving and sustaining outstanding patient satisfaction. MGMA. February 26, 2019. www.mgma.comFunding: not stated (conducted and published by MGMA)
- MDVIP. Patient frustration surges: Americans struggle with broken healthcare system (Ipsos KnowledgePanel survey of 1,010 U.S. adults 26 and older, December 1 to 10, 2023; margin of error plus or minus 3.2 points). Press release. February 27, 2024. www.mdvip.comFunding: industry (MDVIP press release; survey conducted by Ipsos)
- Tetreault M. No More Waiting Rooms: A Customer Service Road Map to Help Remarkable Medical Offices Navigate Their Way Towards an Irresistible Practice Where Gratitude Is on Repeat. Concierge Medicine Today, LLC; 2024. Stories are the author's own experiences and accounts told to the author.Funding: Concierge Medicine Today (self-published; no outside funder) CMT original
- Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Many physicians don't use patients' names on first visit (on Makoul G, Zick A, Green M. An evidence-based perspective on greetings in medical encounters. Archives of Internal Medicine. June 11, 2007). News release. news.feinberg.northwestern.eduFunding: not stated (university news release)
- The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center. Gold Standards: Motto, Three Steps of Service and Service Values. Accessed October 2026. ritzcarltonleadershipcenter.comFunding: industry (Ritz-Carlton company publication)
- Tetreault M. Remark-ology: Creating a Remarkable Patient Experience Worth Remarking About to Others. Concierge Medicine Today, LLC; 2025.Funding: Concierge Medicine Today (self-published; no outside funder) CMT original
Educational and informational only. This CMT Research Brief does not constitute medical, legal, tax, financial, accounting or other professional advice, and it does not create a professional relationship of any kind. Statements about laws, regulations, tax rules and payer policies are general, may not reflect the rules in your state, and can change after publication. Consult a qualified attorney, accountant, tax adviser, compliance professional or licensed clinician before acting on anything here.
Independence. Concierge Medicine Today is an independent publication. It does not accept payment for favorable coverage, and it does not favor one practice model over another. Company names and products are mentioned for context only and are not endorsements. Funding is disclosed for every source in the reference list.
Accuracy. CMT verifies figures against their original or best available sources at the time of publication. Where a figure is an estimate, an inference or a company-reported number, the brief says so. This content is not without possible error or omission.
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