How Do YOU Do Business?
Business and How You Treat People
This isn’t about healthcare, but there is healthcare involved. It’s about business and how you treat people. Wrapping up doctor visits after ignoring everything that wasn’t critical during the pandemic, I was struck by how the medical industrial complex is a great example of how I never want to do business.
The ENT
The ENT’s office scheduled a follow up with me to review labs. At check-in, the receptionist asked if I’d had my scan yet. I asked, “What scan?” and she said, “Oh, everyone has to get a scan before their follow up.” “Why?” She told me to ask the doctor, which I did. He said it was in case I needed surgery, so they would have all the details. I asked him if I was having surgery and he said, “No, you actually are not a candidate for surgery.” Do I trust this guy? No. That was the first one.
The Opthalmologist
Then I had my annual eye appointment. I have an astigmatism that slightly affects my distance vision. I generally do fine with one contact lens for reading and distance. The opthalmologist had me try a different lens that corrected more for the astigmatism, but it made reading slightly more difficult. She told me to follow up with her in a couple of days and let her know if I wanted to use the new prescription or keep the old one. Busy time of year, but I finally was able to reach the office. I was told that they were ready to schedule my follow up appointment. When I asked why I needed a follow up appointment, the young lady said, “The doctor told me to schedule it.” I then asked, “But what is it for?” She said, “Oh, to prescribe your contacts.” “Well, the doctor just fitted my contact.” ”She responded, “It’s to select your eyeglasses.” I explained I wasn’t purchasing any eyeglasses, but wanted my prescription.
A Successful Business Person
If being a successful business person means only maximizing profit, that is not who we are. I don’t believe we have to upsell, down sell, side sell or back sell anything to anyone. Our job is to help our clients find the solution that works best for them, and that is about giving them value while saving them time, money, and anguish. Sure, there are ways to encourage people to spend more, but our goal is to solve our clients’ problems honestly and transparently. When my two (former) physicians put profit ahead of basic honesty, it deepened my resolve to continue to be honest and fair, no matter what the rest of the world is doing. Because the only thing that people will remember about their event is how it made them feel.