Visa Keeps Dentist and His Patients Smiling
Back to TestimonialsA well-practiced dentist
With over a decade of private practice under his belt, Dr. William Cummings, DMD, has established quite an impressive reputation throughout Pennsylvania. He received the “Top Dentist” award from Philadelphia-area magazine Main Line Today, and in 2002, he opened up a state-of-the-art dental practice in Avondale, PA, with the goal of offering the best in comprehensive dental services.
Making his patients comfortable
“We do a little bit of everything here at Avondale Family & Cosmetic Dentistry,” said Cummings. “People come to us for a variety of services ranging from teeth whitening, to preventative care, to tooth extractions. And we get a wide range of people too—our referral service delivers new patients to us every month.”
Cummings admits that some people can be apprehensive about going to the dentist, especially for the first time. “In my profession, I deal with people who can be a little bit nervous and uneasy to begin with,” he stated. “My job is to make sure my patients are as comfortable as possible, so I can help them with their dental needs and then have them continue on with their day. One of the ways I can do that is by making sure the payment process is as easy as it can be.”
To accomplish this goal, Cummings wanted to ensure he had a payment method in place that would be convenient for the greatest number of people. “I provide dental care to a wide variety of folks,” explained Cummings. “Our patients are a mixture of local residents and people from the surrounding areas. And the most common and easiest form of payment for all of us is Visa.”
The Visa advantage
By accepting Visa, Dr. Cummings is able to make his services available to the greatest variety of customers. Cummings estimates that between 60-75 percent of his customers currently use payment cards, with Visa making up the vast majority of those transactions.
“The fact that we accept Visa makes life easier for everyone, especially our customers,” said Cummings. “They don’t need to worry about carrying cash or dealing with a check book. They know that if their insurance requires a co-payment of some sort, they can just put it on their card and move on to getting whatever service they need done without any delays.”
Cummings also recognizes the ways in which Visa makes life easier for his practice from a behind-the-scenes perspective. “Accepting Visa is a huge benefit for my administrative team,” said Cummings. “It vastly reduces the amount of time my staff has to spend on billing issues, and allows them to put their energy and efforts into providing customer service and helping run the front office.”
Simplifying business
Ultimately, Visa proves itself to be advantageous to both Cummings and his patients and ensures that Avondale Family & Cosmetic Dentistry continues on its successful path. “There are a lot of different responsibilities when you’re running your own dental practice,” said Cummings. “The dentistry—doing a filling, extracting a tooth—is the easy part. The business aspect—managing payments and billing issues—is the tough part. That’s where Visa helps out and that’s why I can’t even imagine my practice without Visa.”
