All reasonable people know that no one is perfect and that errors of commission or omission happen....And that is why we are human.
Several weeks ago I was working on a large implant case for a patient that travelled to me from NYC. Unfortunately, everything that I had done perfectly was undone by a company that my laboratory was working with. Heather, the owner of the lab is a friend of mine for almost a 25 years and she apologized for the role that she played and for the company that she had used. I was very willing to accept her apologies but the mega million dollar corporation was not owning up to their role in the case failure which meant that I lost 10 hours of chair time.
Today, one of the executives from the company personally called me to offer their apologies and took responsibility for my problem with the case. The executive informed me that he his company would like to send me a beautiful gift basket for the Holidays to make up for my challenges with my case.
I informed the executive that hearing his apology was all I needed and that I prefer that his company make a contribution in my name to SmileTrain so that children around the world can have their cleft lips and palates repaired. The executive was stunned by my request but agreed to make the contribution rather than sending me the basket.
Everyone who has any relationship with me or my office knows that things are NEVER about the money and always about doing the right thing. I wanted to hear the executive apologize and that was sufficient for me.
I am thrilled that my very unpleasant experience with my case will result in one child having a chance at a normal life. This is a great day for me and a very lucky child.
This is how we do it...It is never about the money....NEVER.