Honest/Dishonest Forum, what goes around comes around
February 05, 2014
by Philip F. Jacobus, CEO
At one time or another, many of you have expressed an opinion to me about our Honest/Dishonest Dealings Forum. Fifteen years ago when I started DOTmed, we were more of a dealer to dealer website. There were hundreds of dealers that used our site and I had developed the Honest/Dishonest Dealings Forum to allow dealers to know if there was a bad apple out there.
Going back to 1977, when there were only 50 dealers, we policed ourselves by talking on the phone. If Sam Kleinman owed money to Sam Moti, everybody knew within a week but as soon as Kleinman paid Moti, he was welcomed back into the fold.
If we fast forward to today, the way people use DOTmed has changed and more health care providers use our site.
Recently, I had to call a small ultrasound dealer who, apparently, was so difficult to deal with that no one in our company wanted to work with him. I always look for the best in people, so I offered to call the guy. I wanted to see if I could get to the bottom of what was bothering him so much that no one on our staff wanted to deal with him. (Incidentally, we have to deal with about 300 customer service requests everyday and out of almost 230,000 Users, I can count on one hand the people who are considered to be difficult to deal with).
Anyway, he did, in my opinion, turn out to be hard to deal with. The conversation got around to our Honest/Dishonest Dealings Forum. This individual had made an unfavorable post about someone. The problem had been resolved but the ultrasound dealer had refused to acknowledge or, for that matter, forgive the transgression.
When you forgive a person, it makes you feel better. It makes you feel charitable. The people you come in contact with have a higher opinion of you because you took the high road and you are building up good karma for yourself when you make a mistake. This particular ultrasound dealer refused to take the high road unless someone did something for him. He even said to me, "What is in it for me?"
I am sure that he must have a polite side because he sells product, but I think people should be respectful to everyone -- from the boardroom to the loading dock to the DOTmed Customer Service department.
Remember what goes around comes around.
Going back to 1977, when there were only 50 dealers, we policed ourselves by talking on the phone. If Sam Kleinman owed money to Sam Moti, everybody knew within a week but as soon as Kleinman paid Moti, he was welcomed back into the fold.
If we fast forward to today, the way people use DOTmed has changed and more health care providers use our site.
Recently, I had to call a small ultrasound dealer who, apparently, was so difficult to deal with that no one in our company wanted to work with him. I always look for the best in people, so I offered to call the guy. I wanted to see if I could get to the bottom of what was bothering him so much that no one on our staff wanted to deal with him. (Incidentally, we have to deal with about 300 customer service requests everyday and out of almost 230,000 Users, I can count on one hand the people who are considered to be difficult to deal with).
Anyway, he did, in my opinion, turn out to be hard to deal with. The conversation got around to our Honest/Dishonest Dealings Forum. This individual had made an unfavorable post about someone. The problem had been resolved but the ultrasound dealer had refused to acknowledge or, for that matter, forgive the transgression.
When you forgive a person, it makes you feel better. It makes you feel charitable. The people you come in contact with have a higher opinion of you because you took the high road and you are building up good karma for yourself when you make a mistake. This particular ultrasound dealer refused to take the high road unless someone did something for him. He even said to me, "What is in it for me?"
I am sure that he must have a polite side because he sells product, but I think people should be respectful to everyone -- from the boardroom to the loading dock to the DOTmed Customer Service department.
Remember what goes around comes around.