On Thu, Jul 9, 2009 at 11:12 AM, Erika L. Rich<[email protected]> wrote: > > No wait! and I hate to call you wrong -- but I get what he is saying ... > > And it's a huge pet peeve of mine. > > Everyone is picky about the mechanic, the carpenter, the people that install > their carpets. They spend MONTHS researching what car to buy, what color > paint to use in the baby's room, which TV is the best fit for the family ... > > But when it comes to a doctor, they pick the first name in the book, make > and appointment and go. They don't research them. They don't interview them. > They don't ask for referrals from friends and family. Because we've NEVER > BEEN TOLD WE COULD!!! It NEVER crosses their minds. They go to who is > convenient, yet they will drive 2 hours to go to a particular electronics > store to purchase tech because they like how that stores treats it's > customers.
I totally agree with you Erika, we aren't disagreeing at all. I pay a yearly out of pocket fee to my doctor because I really like the way they do things. I'm willing to pay extra because I value my relationship with my physician. And we went to an open house and interviewed the doctor and MA before going with them. That's the way things ought to be and why health care should not be (generally) considered a commodity. It is a professional service. And that's where I disagree with Gruss' analogies where most of the things he mentions are commodities. There are some quality differences, perhaps, between TVs with the same feature set. But really, the components of those TVs are manufactured by the same people regardless of who puts together the end brand. They try to do some brand differentiation but that is mostly just in marketing and cachet. Doctors, carpenters, mechanics...those are professional services, not commodities. Two mechanics might end up using the same parts, but what we value in a mechanic is experience, judgment, honesty, the ability to tell us what needs done now versus what can slide a bit. I had my brakes looked at the other day by a tire/brake place because they were grinding a bit. I was told that I needed to replace the brakes and btw, I had a torn CV boot and needed to get my CV joint and half axle replaced. That would be about $400. I ended up having a problem with my car (radiator) and took it to my normal mechanic. While telling me what was wrong with the radiator, he mentioned the brakes. I told him I had it looked at by the brake place. And he said, "oh, well its only worn about 10-15%. No rush there, just something to watch". And I mentioned the CV boot and he said, "yeah, we saw that, but we just throw out CV joints when they go bad, so might as well use them til they wear down, it isn't a safety issue". And we talked and he said that I should just save up the money and come in for my next oil change and they could do the brakes and CV then, that waiting 3,000 miles wouldn't be a problem at all and to do it when I could afford it. That's the difference between professional service and commodity. With a TV, I can find a 1080p with 120Hz refresh rate, LCD, etc. and then just go buy it from the place with the cheapest price. I'll end up with pretty much the same thing. That is not true of mechanics, nor is it true of health care. That is where Gruss fails. Judah ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Want to reach the ColdFusion community with something they want? Let them know on the House of Fusion mailing lists Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:299725 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
