First Impressions, or Otherwise
Upon moving here to “God’s Country” last July, my wife and I completely invested ourselves in all of the wonderful opportunities for local, fresh food. Most of our produce comes from a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture – ask me about it!), our milk is delivered from a local dairy, eggs are from our neighbor across the street, and we get our meat from local ranches.
This past weekend was the Spring delivery from our beef ranch, so we packed our boys into the car and drove to the pick-up spot, excited for our new freezer goodies. As my wife chatted with the man giving her our order, he informed her that the ranch had recently been forced to change butchers because their preferred, long-time butcher had been foreclosed on and went out of business. He wanted us to know the ranch was not 100% pleased with the way the meat was packed, but they’d had to scramble to get things taken care of as it was. He assured us everything would return to normal by the next order in a few months, and he thanked us for our understanding.
Upon arriving home, I could easily see why the man had felt the need to warn us about the packaging, because it was about 15 notches below the level of quality we’d grown accustomed to with their ranch. It actually made the meat look less appealing, and unfortunately I’m sure it won’t keep the meat as fresh in our freezer. If this were my first experience with this ranch, I almost certainly would never give them my repeat business, and I definitely would not refer my friends (which we have been known to do).
Herein lies the point of this beef-centric post: because of the excellent products and service I have previously received from this ranch, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and trust that they will get their act together for next time. If they don’t, well, I’m afraid we’ll probably have to find a new option.
Just like this ranch has been for my family, I hope that each of our patients views our practice as a source of quality products and excellent service. We pride ourselves on offering the latest technology, and we dedicate a lot of time to discussing ways in which we can improve our patient care. That said, we are fully aware that situations arise in which expectations are not fulfilled – whether from a problem at the lab that manufactures our glasses or contacts, or a glitch in our system that popped up as we moved to our new office last Fall. We’ve got a lot of moving parts, and even this well-oiled machine needs the occasional tune-up!
Whatever the source, we absolutely thank you for your patience as we work to resolve any unexpected issues that may occasionally arise. Furthermore, we are grateful for your FAITH in us as you return for your next exam and give us the opportunity to make it up to you through improved care and service!