This is a real story. The moral of this story, right up front, is to put the right people into the right job. Or it may just cost you.
During early November of 2006 my cat of 6 years got very ill. It turned out she had feline leukemia and was in end stage. I had to make the never easy choice of letting her go. It was the humane thing to do. But humane or not, I lost a very significant member of my family. (Hey, sometimes the animals we choose make better relatives than the people we are related to.)
The same night, while I was waiting for test results, another couple with a terminally ill cat had come in to do their final act of compassion. It’s important to mention this because in a few moments it will become painfully relevant to the moral of this story.
This couple, torn up over the impending loss of their beloved feline, were first time clients to this particular clinic. This is a relevant point to mention, which will be painfully revealed shortly.
Number Three was a new “patient” at this same clinic, since her regular vet had lost his clinic in a fire several months prior.
We talked and I gave some grief counsel, not knowing that within a few minutes, I too would be making a final act of compassion toward my Number Three.
It was a rough night for this couple as well as myself.
The following Monday, in the mail was a letter from the veterinary clinic. At first I thought it was the euthanasia charges. But no. It was one of those letters that are automatically mailed when a new client/pet/patient comes into the clinic. It was a welcome letter addressed to myself and Number Three, the dead cat.
It was so ironic and in such poor taste that I am compelled to share the letter (besides, you know you want to read it.) (The punctuation and typos are theirs.)
<I>
Dear Terri LLoyd:
Thank you for trusting our doctors and team to care for Number 3. We want to assure you that we will provide your special pet with the highest quality of veterinary care available as well as the best customer service to you. </I>
Oh really? Maybe we should talk about your timing.
<I>As you know, TLC Pet Medical Centers is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our doctors are always on the premises and available to treat Number 3. For your convenience, we take appointments 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday; all other hours are “walk-in” and patients will be seen on a triage basis. </I>
Well isn’t that interesting? These guys must be able to work some serious gris-gris to be able to treat my dead cat.
<I>Once again, thank you for choosing TLC Pet Medical Centers to take care of Number 3.
We look forward to seeing you both soon!
The Doctors & Team of TLC Pet Medical Centers.</I>
I was speechless. This same letter probably went out to the other couple I mentioned earlier.
Who came up with this brilliant plan? Most likely some moron of an office manager. Instead of hiring a marketing consultant to work all the bugs out of the strategy and plan, the marketing (if you can call it that) was foisted upon the overworked front office reception team. Gadzooks.
Needless to say, I did write back and tore their process, timing and sales letter to shreds. Amazingly the new office manager wrote back and thanked me.
What was that moral?
Oh yeah, don’t hire a moron to do a genius' job
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