A Most Exemplary Support Staff Member

Today, I encountered professionalism and care factor par excellence in an establishment within the broader medical profession.

In general, I have a healthy cynicism for the support / office / customer-facing staff of medical practices. It is not at all uncommon to encounter curt attitudes and a superior attitude, a very low care factor, and a woeful inability to convey important communications and detail. (I’ll expand on some of those points in future articles. I have plenty of points of make and examples to give.)

In this article, though, I want to wholeheartedly congratulate a particular practice – an oral surgeon and his support personnel – for being so far at the opposite (i.e. the positive experience) end of the scale, that it took me by complete surprise.

‘Very Kind & Very Talented’ – Word of Mouth Recommendation

A tradesperson had mentioned the laudable experience his wife had had with the oral surgeon and his practice: Glen Kirk of Palmerston North. He and his support personnel are, my tradie told me – “very kind and talented (and their price was good, too)”.

I thought I’d take my chances with calling them with some fundamental questions about the key differences between a root canal and a dental implant . . . . having previously strenuously avoided ever having anything like these.

The very polite and very helpful receptionist recognised my desire for a detailed education on the matter, and passed my call through to perhaps the most expert support staff member I’ve ever encountered in any category of the broader medical arena.

Sparing you the unnecessary detail discussed, suffice to say that this remarkable team member spent nearly an hour with me (just a caller from out of the blue), educating me in a serious level of detail. No question was too much bother to answer – again, in the requisite level of detail. She even forwarded me very understandable explanatory information, complete with diagrams.

The Quintessential ‘No Brainer’

Of course, I hope that it won’t actually be necessary for me to avail myself of the surgeon’s services . . . but equally, OF COURSE – if that course of treatment were to be necessary – it’s the quintessential “no brainer” as to whom I would entrust with my care.

But the extraordinary thing is, that’s not even why I was selflessly accorded so much time and education during my out-of-the-blue call to this practice. It is – as per the experience of the tradie who recommended this oral surgeon and his team (i.e. they had recently attended his wife) – quite simply their exemplary, natural modus operandi.

It's just the way they treat people.

One can only imagine how exemplary they must, in fact, be in the way they treat their actual paying customers / patients.

Oh, if ONLY more medical, dental, and other practitioners and their personnel were of the ilk of this practice / office of true and caring professionals.