Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Being nice, the bedrock of marketing



I recently had a minor fender bender and got a whiplash that the other driver’s insurance was supposed to handle.   

Even though I was seeing a doctor, the well-known insurance company—rated in the Top 5 by Insurance Journal at the end of 2013—rejected the claim because my car had no damage.    

While it was pretty shocking to hear this, the way I was treated put me over the edge.

Both the adjuster and the supervisor were as cold and hard-nose as could be.

Neither said they were sorry or were sympathetic.  

All they did was repeat that there couldn’t be any damage to me. 

Given the pain I was in, my hackles went sky high.  

Maybe it pays to be nasty in the insurance industry--especially to less sophisticated people who don’t have access to lawyers and other professionals.  

But, even in egregious circumstances, patients don’t sue as often if they like their doctor.  

I will take on any bully if I have to, but I certainly wouldn’t have started thinking about bedside manner as marketing if I had been treated decently.  

For more information on marketing and image, contact Dell Richards Publicity at (916) 455-4790 or visit our website at www.dellrichards.com.