Before leaving on a housecall, I tell guests my
fee, but this is not universal among hotel doctors. Guests may learn when the
doctor hands over the invoice at the end of the visit.
It’s often a bombshell. I recall a guest who showed me a
bill for $1140, and I’ve seen higher. It takes huge balls for a doctor to do
this, but it works. People who will quarrel with an unreasonable charge that
arrives in the mail may keep quiet face-to-face with a doctor in a room far
from home.
Long, long ago I made visits for a national
concierge agency that boasted it would fulfill a hotel guest’s every need. It
was a luxury service, but not everyone in an upscale hotel is filthy rich.
After collecting an immense fee from several resentful guests, I stopped
accepting the agency’s calls.
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