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Hi Chris,
Thought I'd share a story with you, taking you back 30 years to the original Chris Barrow coaching!
There are some things that still stick with me - the "don't wrestle with pigs in sh*t..." is still one of my favourites, in fact I used it at a Parish Council meeting last month and they loved it!
But I also remember two of your methods for dealing with difficult patients - one was the silver stars added to a patient's notes which actually meant a 10% uplift in price for each star (can't do that these days!) and the other was when it was finally time to actually let go of a patient that just wasn't worth the income, no matter how much it was.
So last year I helped out with lambing at a local farm.
Worked for three weeks solid and had the time of my life but had agreed to work for free as I wanted to gain experience, which I did.
Contact the farmer in Jan to ask if I could be part of the team again - yes, absolutely. Will want paying this year though - yep, no problem at all. Now at this point I should have asked him what my hourly rate would be but knew that last year they were all paid £12 to £14 an hour, which I was happy with (all paid in cash at the end of lambing).
So I started last Tuesday, only to discover that none of the others from last year had come back. I was left to run both lambing shed (around 200 ewes) by myself, no-one around to ask for help or advice. I'm not afraid of the hard work, but it was a level of responsibility that I wasn't quite comfortable with.
Friday morning I message the farmer to ask what I was being paid per hour, especially given that I was running the sheds by myself - no answer.
Messaged again that evening asking the same question - his response was to ask what I was expecting to be paid.
Pointed out that the legal minimum wage is £12 per hour - no reply. Nothing over the weekend, although discovered that the other staff there are being paid £8 an hour and I just knew this was one red flag too many!
The thought of going back on Monday and being given so much responsibility for a pittance of a salary was too much. And that's when I remembered your view on the patient who just isn't worth the income from the treatment.
Sent a very carefully worded message - please allow me the opportunity to give you some feedback, know that I'm still inexperienced but clearly you have confidence in me by the responsibility you have given me, reluctance to discuss my salary leaves me no alternative but to believe that you won't pay me what I believe my knowledge and skills are worth, here's the hours I've worked and my bank details, thank you for the opportunities you have given me to learn about lambing and good luck for the rest of the lambing season.
Pure old skool CB!
And the moment I'd sent it, it felt like a weight had been lifted.
Yes I'm sad that I won't be lambing again this year and I've never walked out of a job before in my life but my self worth has been restored beyond measure. I doubt I'll even get paid for last week now but I'm letting it go and know that next year I can go somewhere that will appreciate what I bring to the team.
And I've now got two weeks of 'open space' in my diary which is great for just pottering around the cottage, walking the dogs and seeing the people I want to spend time with.
What I want to say is your coaching is the gift that keeps on giving!
Over 30 years later I'm still using what you taught us in situations that have nothing to do with dentistry; have I ever told you how bloody thankful we are that we hired you as a business coach?????
Much love to you and Annie,
S
x
Suzanne Stolberg MSc
Director
07377 526411
Marketing Communications Consultancy
Visit our website at www.wordofmouthassociates.co.uk
Follow me on Instagram @suzannestolberg or connect with me on LinkedIn
