With my new weight loss I thought, “Time for new clothes.” I went to this fancy-dancy men’s store in Des Moines last week and tried on some stuff. Everyone was waving at me like I was the Queen of England the second I stepped in the door, and I thought, “This is probably a mistake.” The guys brought me all sorts of stuff to try on. I was happy until I looked at the price tag – for one jacket it was $3000! The guy went on to explain that it was from the sale rack and it was 40% off. Some other guy yelled across the store that it was 95% handmade. I thought, “For $3000 it better be.” and “Unless the Queen herself stitched it, no way is it worth $3000.” The whole thing was extremely awkward. Gives me a new appreciation for Mr. G’s uptown.
Every so often someone makes the mistake of telling me how they went out of town for healthcare, and then they regretted it because they weren’t treated the same way we treat people out here. Really? Am I supposed to be surprised? We work really, really hard at having awesome quality and excellent service. We listen to both peers and patients, and hold ourselves accountable for our shortcomings. This is not easy stuff, AND we don’t give ourselves enough credit for being as awesome as we are.
If I learn nothing else out of my weight loss journey, I have learned to accept a compliment. Before (and sometimes still) I would catch myself saying, “Oh, no – it’s nothing.” (… basically, don’t compliment me because I don’t deserve it). I am going to ask you to do something – this next year, month, or even day – accept a compliment with “Thank you” and nothing else. Let it soak in and truly appreciate the compliment. Don’t say “No problem” or “It’s nothing;” just say “thanks.” And when someone says something great about Iowa Specialty Hospitals and Clinics, say something like “Thanks, we really try to make it a great place. We are happy you choose to come here for your healthcare.” (Or just “thanks”)
-Steve Simonin, President & CEO
