Introduction

Clear Speech & Language is a pediatric and adult speech therapy clinic in Anaheim, CA, built on one belief: communication changes lives. But as demand grew, their small, high-volume team struggled to keep up with the flood of calls and referrals. Referral opportunities were being missed and they had a backlog of 20 kids waiting to receive care.

Operations Manager, Tiffany, ran the business remotely while the owner juggled patient care and operations. With 200+ patients a day and a tiny admin team, every  call to the clinic was critical. Patients needed care and referral opportunities needed to be answered.

To protect their patients' experience and margins, Clear Speech & Language turned to Frontdesk AI to launch an AI phone receptionist that could answer every call, capture every detail, and speak multiple languages, so their team could focus on what they do best: serving kids.

The Challenge

Before Frontdesk AI, the team relied on manual processes and a traditional Frontdesk:

• Lost revenue: Over eight months, they missed 10–11 referral opportunities worth thousands of dollars each.
  
  
• Incomplete messages: Key info like names, phone numbers, and next steps often went missing.
  
  
• Long calls: Simple questions quickly turned 2-minute calls to 20 minutes long.
  
  
• Language barriers: Many families spoke Spanish, Farsi, Russian, and and would hang up when no one could help.
  
  
• Leadership strain: Faxed referrals, insurance forms, and call-outs piled up while reception stayed “too busy on the phone”.
  
  
• No visibility: Tiffany couldn’t see what calls were being handled or lost.

"We’re a communication company,” Tiffany said. “But we had communication breakdowns everywhere between patients, referrals, and even our own team.”

— Tiffany Hurd, Operations Manager, Clear Speech

The AI Solution: Frontdesk's AI Receptionist 

Clear Speech & Language rolled out Frontdesk AI across their main line with one goal: let AI handle every inbound call to get their adiministators off the phone. But what they didn't expect was the business efficiencies that were created from using Frontdesk's AI receptionist.

• Easy setup: “The easiest interface I’ve ever used,” said Tiffany. “My boss doesn’t want an instruction manual she just wants to go in and use it. This was one of the few things I’ve brought to her where she said, ’I knew what to do immediately.'"
  
  
• Smart onboarding: The Frontdesk team mapped call flows for referrals, new patients, cancellations, and call-outs, then refined them quickly. No more opportunities were missed.
  
  
• Fast learning: Within days, Clear Speech was capturing full details and recognizing referral, patient, and employee calls accurately.
  
  
• Multilingual support: Callers can speak Spanish, Farsi, Russian, and more, with the AI translating everything into English for the team.
  
  
• Automated workflows:
  
  
  • Referral partners get clear next steps and contact info.
    
    
  • Employee call-outs are logged and emailed to Tiffany.
    
    
  • Patient cancellations and questions are transcribed and stored.

“It’s been the best decision we made for our office. Hands down, the best decision.” Tiffany said, “I’ve been able to capture leads from patients that want to switch over services or programs. Just last week alone I moved five patients who were fed up with their old program and it’s because AI captured what my front desk wasn’t asking.”

— Tiffany Hurd, Operations Manager, Clear Speech

The Results (After Just One Month with an AI receptionist)

1. 100% of Referral Opportunities Captured

Their AI instantly recognizes and qualifies referral calls, gathers complete info, and routes it correctly.

"The phone is our first line of revenue,” Tiffany said. “Now almost all of that revenue comes in through AI...and that’s how it should’ve been from the start.”

— Tiffany Hurd, Operations Manager, Clear Speech

2. From 20 Kids on a Waitlist to Zero

With phone time reduced, staff could finally clean up the schedule, process paperwork, and call families. Within weeks, the waitlist disappeared. Families now get care faster.

"We went from a wait list of like 20 kids sitting on a wait list and we have zero kids on our wait list now, because we’ve been able to utilize that time to finagle the schedule.”

— Tiffany Hurd, Operations Manager, Clear Speech

3. 100+ Hours a Month Saved

Call-handling time dropped from 10–20 minutes to 2, and letting the AI be the first line of defense saved them over 100 hours a month. That time now goes to managing insurance, faxes, and in-clinic support instead of endless phone calls.

"When you take away the phone aspect where they were spending 25 minutes on the phone talking to someone. Yeah, you’re super busy because you’re wasting time. So it’s been great. I love it.”
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— Tiffany Hurd, Operations Manager, Clear Speech

4. Inclusive, Multilingual Care

Parents who once hung up can now communicate in their native language.

“Callers can now speak in their native language...Spanish, Farsi, Russian, and more and still be fully understood. The AI captures everything and passes it to the team in English.
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— Tiffany Hurd, Operations Manager, Clear Speech

5. Better Lead Qualification & Capture

Every call is transcribed and logged. Tiffany knows exactly who called, why, and how it was handled turning a former “black box” into a transparent, trackable system with Frontdesk's CRM.

"I’ve been able to capture leads from patients that want to switch over services or programs. Just last week alone I moved five patients who were fed up with their old program and it’s because AI captured what my front desk wasn’t asking"
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— Tiffany Hurd, Operations Manager, Clear Speech

Conclusion

Clear Speech was able to capture more referral opportunities, liberate her administrators from tedious phone calls, and increased her clinic's capacity to serve more children.

“It has changed our front desk. It’s incredible how much my admins prior said how busy it was and now they’re struggling to find stuff to do.”
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— Tiffany Hurd, Operations Manager, Clear Speech

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