Skilled Professionals Need To Have Similarly Skilled Office Staffs
by Larry Turner

Small business used to be the economic backbone of our country, with 48% of all US employees working for small businesses.  No longer.  Maybe it’s the result of the pandemic and people don’t really want to work anymore. Or maybe inflation has made it a tossup whether to work or just live off whatever government dole is available.  Whatever the cause, the majority of small businesses we come into contact with leave a lot to be desired in terms of addressing the needs of potential customers. A few examples:

Our home has a lighting system that is smart enough to turn our outside lights on and off at sunset and sunrise, respectively.  That is, until they just stayed on all the time.  Out comes our favorite small business to solve the riddle, but nothing changes. We call to advise of our need for a follow up.  That was months ago, and no one has even called to say they have no idea what to do to get the system up to par again.

A medical office that provides a portion of our supplements and medications calls and lets us know that our next shipment is on the way, by priority delivery!  It was nearly a week before the “priority delivery” arrived at our doorstep.  Hardly priority timing.

I have endured a medical issue for the past few years and have sought help from several doctors.  I had almost given up hope when I made an appointment with my “last chance” doc.  He looked me over, conducted some tests, and made an appointment for me to have a treatment.  The office later called to inform me that they would be able to move the appointment forward so I wouldn’t have to be in pain longer than necessary.  When the time came, I called to confirm that day’s appointment only to find that the doctor wasn’t in the office that day.  Oops!  Back to square one and continuing pain.

Finally, a specialist I have seen for years scheduled an appointment early one morning to beat the patient rush that quickly ramps up as the day goes on.  I arrived to be greeted by a brand new receptionist who was learning the office procedures while the doc “was on vacation.”  Double oops!  The office had overlooked that little complication.

I won’t go on, but only wanted to point out why most of these mistakes are happening. In almost every instance the error was made by the office staff and not the ones with the expertise being sought. Until those we employ to maintain our homes and bodies in turn employ people with the same concern for the customers/patients, there will be chaos in the execution, and that is a problem. The needless travel time, the wasted gasoline, the unnecessary stress, the pressure to rearrange calendars, etc. All that could be avoided if competent people were available and interested in helping to manage our small businesses.  We can only hope!