Get Down

No, I'm not advocating for a dance party.

I moved to a new city within the last year and have been salon hopping since I arrived. Everywhere I tried was expensive and...just ok. But, I think I may have recently found "the one." I walked in to a very welcoming environment and met my new stylist. The first order of business was making me comfortable which included getting me some water, showing me where the bathrooms were, giving me a shirt to change into, asking if I needed any magazines, etc. Next, we started talking about the plan and I was so impressed when my stylist squatted down to speak with me. She got down on my level (I was seated...I'm not thaaaat short). I think I've had one doctor that sat down to chat me throughout my life(and of course, I thought he was excellent). In fact, I even witnessed a person yell "we can't have doctors sitting down!" when one of my colleagues mentioned this idea in a presentation. I know that some nurses and physicians do this, but definitely not all, and I'm sure more could be open to doing things a little bit differently for the benefit of the patient.

Taking those steps for comfort in the beginning (from water to squatting...no pun intended) allows for more open dialogue. No matter who the patient is, hospitals, doctor's offices, and clinics are all foreign environments. The more we can make customers or patients comfortable, the less foreign the environments seem.