What is a Domino Map?
A one-page picture of the ten areas below, marked with what you counted, not what you hope. Phones and callbacks. Arrival and check-in. Wait time and how you talk about it. Scheduling and the template. No-shows and confirmations. Checkout and follow-through. Admin requests and messages. Handoffs and escalation. Team stability and onboarding. Reputation and patient feedback.
The links under each card go to the problem page for that domino. The Front Desk Guide walks the same ten as a how-it-should-run piece. The scorecard lets you mark them before you buy anything.
What does signing three change?
The Reset refuses the other seven on purpose. A manager can hold three new rules. A manager cannot hold ten. The backlog stays visible so the next fire is a choice, not a surprise.
How do you read the map with a partner?
Sit down with the owner and the manager. Each of you marks the domino you think is knocking the others over. If you mark the same one, start there. If you mark different ones, do not average them. The disagreement is why the five-day tally exists. Feelings tie. Counts do not.
Use the words on the cards, not a private nickname. "The girls up front are the problem" is not a domino. Phones, check-in, the wait, the template, no-shows, checkout, messages, handoffs, training, and reviews are. Pick three only after you have seen a week. The scorecard is that pick in a form. The guide is the long version of how each one should run when it is healthy.
Questions people ask
Why do the problems come back?
Because the desk treats them as separate. A new phone script does not survive if the schedule is still overridden by whoever shouts. The map forces a choice: which domino, if it stood up, would let the others stand.
Which one should we fix first?
The one that is knocking the others over in your building, not the one a blog says is popular. The scorecard is a self-check. The Practice Audit is the counted version.