Frustration

An Emirate Airline flight attendant was suffering severe back pain. 

Emirate crew stay the Hilton in Costa Mesa, 46 miles away in Orange County. There is an Orange county doctor, but she had not responded. It was 2:40 a.m.

I didn’t complain. Freeway traffic is light. I have no office hours, so I can go back to bed if I want. I earn extra for long drives and late hours. The Orange County doctor enjoys a rich social life, so she’s often unavailable. I made 42 housecalls to her territory in a single year.

I dressed and drove off. As I entered the freeway my phone rang. The visit was cancelled. The Orange County doctor had checked in and reported that she was on her way. 

I pointed out that once the agency assigns a doctor, he or she should take priority. The dispatcher agreed and promised that it would not happen again

More Competition

A caller from the Airport Hilton asked how much I charged.

This is often the first question I hear. If I answer immediately, the guest is likely to thank me and hang up. So my first response is that phone calls are free and might be all he or she needs. What’s the problem?....

He wasn’t a guest, the caller replied. Hilton management was checking on what hotel doctors charged. There had been an unpleasant incident…. Hearing that I charged $300 most of the time, $350 for a call that got me out of bed, he responded that this was a big improvement and that he would pass along this information.

When I asked about the other doctor, the caller gave me an 800 number. I called it and learned that I was speaking to Doctors Housecalls. When I asked for the medical director, the person who answered said he was the owner.

When the owner answers the phone, that doesn’t suggest a prosperous business. I introduced myself as a long-standing Los Angeles hotel doctor. He immediately went into PR mode and told me of his burgeoning nationwide service. When I pointed out that I’d only learned of his existence today, he admitted that he was just getting started in the city. He asked me to send my CV.

Impresssing the General Manager

Years ago Prentice-Hall published The Man’s Health Book, and UPS delivered my ten free copies. Usually I gave those to family and friends who didn’t read them, so I wondered if I could put them to better use. 

I decided to visit general managers of my biggest hotels, introduce myself, and impress them by handing over my new book.  

At each, I approached the secretary in the executive office, identified myself as the hotel doctor, and asked for a minute of her boss’s time. I delivered my spiel, surrendered the book, and accepted their thanks. Some GMs expressed pleasure at finally meeting me, adding flattering words about my service. Others listened politely and thanked me for the book, but it was obvious they had no idea who I was.

I encountered a third reaction at the Los Angeles Downtown Hilton. The secretary had barely replaced her phone when the GM shot out of his office. I began my spiel but he interrupted.

“What do you mean you’re our hotel doctor?” he exclaimed. “This hotel doesn’t have a doctor!”

“I’ve been coming for years….,” I said. My database showed 119 visits which implied over 200 phone calls. The staff knew me; the valets never refused to hold my car (essential downtown).

“This hotel doesn’t have a doctor!” he repeated. “What do you mean calling yourself our doctor?”

“When a hotel calls so often…”

“We don’t have a doctor. You’re not to call yourself our doctor!”

Flustered, I held out my book. He snatched it and disappeared back into his office. I could have made better use of that copy. A few days later the mail brought a certified letter from an attorney informing me that I was hereafter forbidden to refer to myself as the Los Angeles Hilton’s doctor.

I stopped handing out books. Seven years passed before the hotel, then the Wilshire-Grand, resumed calling.