Random acts of kindness at the dental practice.
On Tuesday this week, a patient of ours made us a loaf of bread. It had rosemary and garlic in it. And it was still warm from the bake earlier in the day. It was delicious, thoughtful, and surprising in the best way. We shared it with the staff (who loved it as much as Jamie and I did) and there was enough to take home to make the world’s best bacon egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast the next day.
Jamie and I love when our patients do this type of thing. In December, a patient of ours dropped off some homemade caramel corn. At the end of the summer, a patient stopped by a local farmers market and bought us a peach pie. We’ve received hothouse tomatoes, homemade wine, peaches grown in the backyard, secret family-recipe tamales, bottles of champagne, and countless boxes of chocolate.
We bought this dental practice for a number of reasons: to own our own business; to carry on a family legacy; to deliver high-quality services in a local community; to make money; to have fun. We knew that our unique combination of Jamie’s clinical skillset, my business acumen, and our combined emotional intelligence would enable us to build trust with our patients and run a successful dental practice. I did not anticipate the extent to which I’d get wrapped up in the lives of our patients (in the best way possible). Admittedly, on a couple occasions, that’s tipped a little too far to one side of the scale (e.g., I let a patient take my car to go get a spare set of keys at her house after she locked her keys in her car). But that’s a price that I’m willing to pay to develop relationships with our patients such that they return the favor in the form of their business, their trust, and the various goodies they bring to us out of the goodness of their hearts. It will never cease to amaze me the thoughtfulness that comes with taking time out of your day to make something or buy something for your dentist and their staff.
It’s humbling and gratifying in a way that I’ve never experienced outside of this business. Thank you to all our patients.