Your fired

Jan 23rd, 2009
4 weeks until my 40th birthday. Yeah I said FORTY.
It hasn't really hit me yet but I am thinking it is going to suck real bad.
I am the kind of guy that still thinks and acts like he is 24.
So when I tell someone I am 40 it stings.
I am not discontent, but I am halfway home and I think this scares me a little.
I don't know.

Anyways....

So I went to the Magic game last night and we got to sit in a skybox.
Wow, was that cool.
Free food and drinks (well free for me).
The Magic though laid a huge egg. It was definitely their worst game of the season.
But you know what makes the sting of a loss feel better?
You guessed it....Free food and drinks.


I don't know if you saw the Gator Basketball game on Wednesday night.
We were up by 7 points with 2 minutes to play and lost. I couldn't sleep Wednesday night, I was so upset. I know what you are thinking and I totally agree with you...I need a sports therapist.

Okay, one last thing before I finish up on Firing Patients.
Both my older children need braces bad.
The other day they both got palatal expanders.
I am sitting in the reception area and a magazine catches my eye.

It was a Cosmopolitan magazine with Jessica Simpson and her big boobs on the cover.
The boobs were not the only thing that caught my eye.
Here are the headlines on the cover of the magazine.
"Total Body Sex...These bed shaking techniques will have any man quivering with pleasure from head to toe".
Bonus Section....Sexy vs. Swanky
The Trick that Attracts Hot Guys Like Crazy.
Your Orgasm Face...what he is thinking when he sees it.
The Naked Quiz...use the score to boost your in-the-buff confidence.

I know I have very conservative views, but I don't think I am a prude by any stretch of the imagination.

But to me this is irresponsible on the part of the orthodontist and his staff.
This is an orthodontist that sees 50% kids. And how many horny 12-14 year old boys walk through his doors. Not to mention my 9 year old son (Daddy, what is an orgasm face?).
I showed this to a couple of my staff members and much to my surprise they were not concerned about this magazine being in the reception area.
I was trying to convince them that I thought this was bad.
They shrugged their shoulders.
I said, "Did you read everything."
They said, "Yeah, what is the big deal?"
One of them said, "There are alot of adults that come to drop off their kids."
I said, "Okay, then have adult magazines like, Southern Living, Consumer Reports, Sports Illustrated, Better Homes and Gardens, any number of the 1000 car magazines."
"Well, I guess" she says.
The other, "I said you don't have a problem with the stuff on the cover of this magazine?"
"No" she says.
"What about if a 9 year old read it?"
"Wwwwwellllll, I guess, I would have a problem with that". Yeah, this is what I am saying.
I have a strict magazine restriction policy at our office. Nothing the kids can't see.
I mean I have a family practice. That means families are coming in here. I need to respect the parents of these kids.


Okay firing patients.
For me this is kind of a growing process. When I was a young dentist, maybe from years one to nine, I wanted to please everyone. I felt like if things weren't working out it was always my fault.
I thought if I ended the relationship there was something I was leaving on the table. There was something I could of done to prevent the deterioration of our relationship.
And there was a little issue being that I needed all of my patients.
Now it is to a point that I have enough patients and I have come to realize that you can't please everyone.
I know this sound like a cliche but it is true. Trust me I have tried to please everyone. It is not possible.
Now I realize that I can only do my best. I can only do the things I do. If someone isn't happy, maybe there is something we could of done, but most of the time you can jump through all the hoops and they still are going to be unhappy.
I have given money back. I have done so much crap for free. I have overlooked balances. I have rescheduled people that have no business being rescheduled.
Now I am not completely healed but I have mostly been healed from this issue.
I still make sure we didn't screw up but if someone is unhappy that is okay with me.
If they want to leave the practice...it is okay.
I can only do so much. I have put people in place to collect money. I have put people in place to greet. I have put people in place to answer the phone and do it well. I have put people everywhere to do the things I can't. I can't be everywhere. I won't micro manage. I can't. I don't have the mental capacity.
But the over riding issue is people are just going to be people.
Do you think, as good as the Ritz-Carlton is at service that people don't complain.
I don't think so. I have been at the counter next to someone that was chewing a poor little desk clerk out at the Ritz one time.
I witness another guy go to the counter and complain about his room. They said this was the only room we have. He said to them, "Do you want your people to be happy?"
"Well yes sir we do".
"So I am telling you I am not happy with my room. It is unacceptable"
Now we are talking about a Ritz-Carlton. How many unacceptable rooms do you think they have?

Enough.

Have a great weekend.
Monster trucks tomorrow. My kids are so excited.
john