Dumb looks are still free

Social Media is to Technology what Chiropractic is to Medicine. Before chiropractors begin to send in critical comments I want begin by saying I believe a good chiropractor is worth their weight in Gold. Which as praise goes (with the dollar falling and Gold closing at roughly $1007 per ounce) is two times greater praise than it would have been a year ago -bringing the value of a good Chiropractor between $2MM and $3MM dollars.  So why in the words of the late and great Rodney Dangerfield do they “get no respect”?   My guess is that the perception is they lack the same education, training, and certification as an MD.

While living in the San Francisco Bay Area I was fortunate enough to use the same chiropractor that served many of the 49ers, Raiders, A’s and Giants-and he rocked!  At first I was reluctant to go- I thought, a little ibuprofen maybe some ice or heat , and I’ll be right as rain, right?  Wrong!  The pain didn’t go away.  The first time I went in to see Dr. Lee, I remember thinking “my insurance isn’t going to cover this, (since it’s not a “real” doctor) and it may not do squat for me”.  Wrong again on both accounts.  So the receptionist says go ahead and go into room #3.  I proceed to get settled into room #3, Car and Driver from the lobby still hand, when I see a sign that reads,

If you have a question, I have an answer.

Answer $0.10

Answer with thought  $0.25

Correct answers        $1.00

Dumb looks are still free

Short story long Dr Lee finds the root of my problem about 38 seconds after he enters the room.  He eliminates the pinched nerve and proceeds to explain how the pain should be 70% gone immediately, but like removing your finger from a vice, it feels much better right away but it will still hurt for a little while.  I’m paraphrasing, but the gist was that it would be 95%-100% in a few days.  I ask what I owe, as I would have gladly paid four times his fee to no longer feel like a human pretzel-to which he responds “Don’t worry about it-the first one’s on me-I’ve been here 10 years, and I just renewed my lease for another 5 years, if it happens again just come see me”.

Before everyone in a 25 mile radius of 94506 schedules their “Free” appointment with the good doctor, let me finish.  I don’t know as though he always gives out visits free, or if he simply sensed my skepticism, or if he’s just a cool guy.  I think its a combination, but the point is sometimes you go out of your way to give someone value and you earn their trust and loyalty for a lifetime.  If you’re a social media professional you may want to take notes, because there’s a reason why social media is often called new media-because it’s new.  And there are people who will naturally be a bit skeptical, so before you charge them hourly to bring them up to speed on the 20 latest apps that were developed  and released for Twitter and Facebook while you were reading this article-remember Dr. Lee.

By the way the second to the last thing the doc said to me was do you have any questions to which I responded with, you guessed it-a Free Dumb Look. The last thing he said, “You can keep the Car and Driver magazine, I think we have two of this months issues floating around the office”.

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