I received an email this morning from my kids' dental office thanking me for our business and saying we were valued customers. Ha! My immediate reaction was, "No, thank YOU." The message was obviously autogenerated. No one working in that office yesterday would have naturally felt inclined to thank us for coming in yesterday. 24 hours is simply not enough time for any normal person to recover and feel "ok" about everything. It was a scene.
Now, my kids have been to the dentist a number of times and we've never had an issue. Though, yesterday was different. My little middle decided to freak out. The chair was too slippery, the sunglasses too shady, and the puffy Angry Bird pillow used to prop up her legs was too cushy. To make things worse, the toothpaste was apparently made of poison- which is surprising given that they are after all a pediatric dental office.
After trying to rationalize and negotiate (even offering to get Grandma on the phone), I had to resort to holding her down while the lovely Miss Melody did the best she should. My otherwise agreeable daughter was screaming and writhing which, in retrospect, was nothing compared to when she started literally foaming at the mouth. Like I said, it was a scene.
So I really do appreciate the extreme professional manners exhibited through the follow-up thank you note but it's me that owes a "thank you."
The whole exchange made me feel appreciative of those people willing to do jobs that I'd never want to do. Voluntarily putting your fingers into a kid's mouth is too close to noodling for catfish for my taste. It also reminded me that embracing upfront all aspects of your job-- good, bad, and seriously annoying--helps level out the highs and lows of any one client interaction. Lastly, it made me thankful that we only have to do this every 6 months.
I hope you have a lovely weekend. More news coming next week on my free ebook coming out next week. If you're not already a subscriber to the blog, sign up to get a copy sent directly to you before the official launch day.
Thank you!