Wow.
You all have really been the hand of God for my family.
Thank you so much for all your emails and comments. It really means a lot.
As good as "this sucks" goes...it went pretty well.
We went to a hospital only for Women and Children, so the staff was very kind and empathetic.
My wife is doing pretty good. Still very emotional and a bit soar but pretty good.
Okay lets talk about happier things.
I finished Black Hawk Down and it was very good.
I moved the movie up the the top of my Queue. I saw it a lonnng time ago so I want to see it again.
I finished 10,000 B.C. I don't know about this movie. It was all right. I thought it was weird that people that lived 12,000 years ago spoke English, very convenient.
I watched a movie last night called The Last Battalion. It was about WWI. It was okay for those kind of movies. Not my thing though.
I started watching Charlie Wilson's War, I think this is my kind of movie.
I am going to talk to you about my Fellowship soon but my camera pooped out in the middle of the ceremony so I asked my friend to take a bunch of pictures and he has failed to mail them to me. So when he mails them to me I will write the Fellowship blog.
Because of something that happened to me, I want to revisit the Tier stuff again.
During the pregnancy my wife found another OB-GYN. Turns out her last OB wasn't delivering babies any more.
Is this a problem in your state? In Florida we are having a real hard time getting OB-GYNs to either stay in our state and/or deliver babies.
Two reasons...first, people want to sue these doctors for all the problems they are having with there newborn and second, because of the first reason insurance premiums are so high.
Can you imagine OB-GYNs not making any money? Well that is what is happening in Florida. We have had 5 pregnancies and 4 OBs.
So my wife went to this new OBs office for the first time. That night at dinner I asked her how her appointment went. (Well if kind of went like this, "Aren't you going to ask me about where I went today?"
"Yes, how did it go where you went today?"
"You don't even know where I went today, do you?"
"I am sorry honey, no I don't know where you went today. Did I tell you you look like you have lost some weight.")
So we started to talk about her first visit at her new OB's office.
"It was awesome." she said. "You are not going to believe it."
Then she went on to tell me how it went.
She checked in. Then she tells me that the office manager came out from behind the desk and introduced herself to her. The office manager told her that she has been there forever and plans to be there til the place closes down, so if she ever needed anything just to give her a call.
"That was nice" my wife thought.
Well, from then on it was more of the same.
The doctor brought her back on time and had reserved 30 minutes to be with her (in dental time this is like 2 hours).
He was very friendly. He joked with her for the rest of her appointment. He and her assistant joked and involved Hilda in their conversation. All in an attempt to make my wife more comfortable.
Then the doctor brought it all home with, "if you need anything, I am available to you 7 days a week for 24 hours a day." My wife just about fell out of her stirrups. She was impressed.
So much so that my wife came home and raved about this guy and his office.
She says to me that she is always hearing me talk about how to make my office better. She knows what a premium I put on how my staff treats patients. She knows that consumer service is neck and neck with being a good dentist on the most important scale.
I was so impressed.
I was so pleased to hear there is a doctor that cares I was compelled to write him a little note.
I told you I like the written word. I have these cards with my initials on the outside and I have them to jot a note to someone.
I got a card out and wrote him a note. I thanked him for taking such good care of my wife. I told him how impressed with what I heard about the office and that I was looking forward to meeting him.
So in all the hoopla this week, I had to go to this doctor's office with my wife.
I was excited to see the place. I imagined a very nice cozy reception area. Maybe some cappuccino and biscotties in the reception area.
I imagined all the front staff in business uniforms. The back staff in matching scrubs. I imagined warm tones and art on the walls that matched the theme.
My wife had built me up so much about the practice she didn't tell me anything about the plant.
When I walked in I was amazed. It was so BAD.
It was a reception room that was square. It had 15 or so chairs against the walls. White linoleum on the floor. NOTHING on the white or light pink walls, no art no information boards, no TV. NOTHING.
The staff where all in different scrubs.
It looked right out of the early 80's.
We were escorted back to his office. It was more of the same. Ziggy (yes, I said Ziggy) card holder on his glass desk. His circa 1970 diploma frames on the walls.
Now you have to understand my wife LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this office.
Now she knows what a warm office looks like. I am not tooting my own horn here but I think I have spent a great deal of time and money to make my office feel warm.
My periodontist"s office is so nice. My orthodontist's office is super warm.
She knows what warm tones are. Carpet and maybe a fountain on the wall. Art and uniforms and how an office can look profession.
But you know what? It didn't matter to her.
The people are what mattered.
I learned a lesson here.
You can have an awesome plant and if you don't back it up with the people you have lost. They can see right through the smoke and mirrors.
And...
You can have awesome people and have just an okay facility and your office could knock the socks off people.
A consumer wants to know that are being cared for. I can imagine that sometimes the facility might get in the way of that.
Something to ponder.
Interesting, huh?
If you have any thoughts about this, I would like to hear from you.
Have a great weekend,
Because I took yesterday off, I am working on Monday.
Talk to you then,
John Gammichia DMD FAGD (How do you like that? Has a nice look to it doesn't it?)
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