Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Mary's Desk, March 30, 2010

(Lady in scrubs comes in, stands at the front counter)

Mary: "Hi! Can I help you?"

Ms. Tooth: "Hi! I'm Cindy Tooth! I work for Dr. Plaque, the dentist across the street, and we're doing free tooth whitening for all medical office staff, to get them familiar with the procedure."

Mary: "Oh, that's nice, but no, thank you."

Ms. Tooth: "Are you sure? It looks like you could use it."

Mary: "Get out."

19 comments:

terri c said...

I heart Mary. And the "salesperson" needs some people skills!

OMDG said...

The dental hygienist tried to sell me tooth whitening in that very same manner to me when I was 23 years old. I was quite offended and never went back. I should have commented on her need for a facelift and some liposuction.

rothase said...

I work for a company that does design and framing. We are mostly commercial, but we deal with a lot of artists, too. Yesterday, one of our more interesting artists came in and while I was helping her, she reached up and touched my hair, saying "hey you've got some grey coming in there! Have you ever tried henna?" 'scuse me?

Anonymous said...

Mary rocks!! Don't ever let her go away!

The Mother said...

At least it wasn't a bariatric surgeon.

Maha said...

Marketing FAIL.

J-Quell'n said...

Damn! I mean, I'm all for free stuff....but not if you make me feel like crap in the process.

Kim said...

This story makes me cringe for so very many reasons. The most obvious of which is my chosen profession being highlighted in a negative light (Dental Hygiene) and for the fact that this person felt the need to say something ridiculous to try and sell something that if used improperly can actually be damaging to your teeth, not to mention completely unnecessary for oral health.

Mary is a better woman than I for just telling that woman to get out. I would not have been as nice.

Moose said...

O holy moley. I think I'm in love with Mary.

Anonymous said...

the nation is short of dentists in part because many dentists want to expand their cosmetic practices. $$ my last cleaning was an extended marketing spiel. when i declined, the hygenist found two enamel flaws that the dentist and the x-rays had missed. suddenly they had to be drilled and filled. knowing they had not changed in years, i again declined.

Anonymous said...

You go, Mary! She deserves a raise for being such a good gatekeeper for your office.

GB, RN said...

I chortled. Poor Mary. Give that woman a raise!

Anonymous said...

It seems Mary missed the obvious comeback: "You obviously have a neurological disorder. We can fix that."

Kristin said...

I'm amazed at Mary's restraint to not beat the hell out of this woman.

Anonymous said...

Mary's alternative repsonse:

"What an incredible coincidence!! Our office has a special for this week only for no-charge removal of craniums from colons!! How is nine forty five Friday??

Pattie, RN

Sarah Glenn said...

Your receptionist is great... especially with the cr*p she has to put up with. Curses first, now insults to her teeth...

Anonymous said...

It's stories like this that make me so glad that I have an honest, ethical dentist and hygienist. They would never try to recommend or remotely suggest a whitening procedure was needed (even though my teeth are far from movie-star dazzling). I once asked about it on my own, however, and options were discussed. But not before I initiated the discussion. I eventually went with the brand of white strips my dentist recommended, purchased on sale at the drugstore and had excellent results.

ERP said...

She should have said the rest of the staff has Trench Mouth and is beyond whitening.

Homemaker Man said...

Found you through Candice and Knucklhead. Sitting here waiting for the laundry to be done checked out your blog. Been reading it for 25 minutes. Really enjoying it. This post made me laugh my hardest "shhh the kids are asleep" laugh.

 
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