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Friday, January 18, 2019

60: LET'S TALK ABOUT SOMETHING VALUABLE...TIME!

So I know that I said the next post would be about Dr. Prada's new dental lab but Keli, my wife, brought up something yesterday that I wish I would have included in the previous post. So instead of editing it, I thought I would just do a quick note here. What she said is that she noticed every single appointment I've had, starting back in 2014, that I never had to wait more than a few minutes past my scheduled time to be seen. I think the longest I've had to wait is 5 minutes beyond my appointment time. We compared that to what we've experienced back in the states with different clinics and it's not even close. Did you know that there are clinics in the States that will charge you if you are more than 20 or 30 minutes late? The clinic will make you sit there in the waiting room 30 to 45 minutes past your appointment time but if you're late...BAM...late fee charge! Our time is just as valuable as the doctor's so how about giving us a discount if you keep us waiting in the lobby? Yeah, that'll never happen but they have no problem charging you. I wish I still lived in my old town of Hillsboro, Oregon where we had an excellent dentist, Dr. Sandra Galloway, who realized her patients time is just as valuable. But we moved away from that area in 2017 and I'm still looking for a local dentist that even comes close to Galloway and her clinic. 

Now back to our experience in Costa Rica. I think it must be a culture thing because other dental tourists I've spoken with have said the same thing regarding their clinic of choice and waiting time...with one exception that comes up often. That clinic, which will remain unnamed, packs patients into their hot & stuffy clinic and they often wait for hours before being seen. I visited that clinic back in 2014 and I knew as soon as I walked in that it was not for me. But back to culture...from our experience, and others, it seems that the doctors here do everything they can to get you in on schedule and they take it personally if they don't. Totally not the case in the states for the most part and that is sad.

To be treated well and for others to understand that your time is just as valuable as theirs...how can you put a price on that? Oh wait, the price for that experience is actually cheaper than getting treated worse in the States. I almost forgot.  ;)

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