I don’t know about you, but when I eat at a sushi bar, I expect the sushi chef to take my order.
After all, for me, that’s the expected, traditional experience. And, it’s what makes it fun.
You order based on what looks fresh, on what the chef suggests, and depending on your appetite – not all up front, but as the meal progresses.
But I’ve noticed that in some parts of the country sushi bars operate like a long skinny table — a waiter or waitress takes your order or, even worse, picks up your self-completed golf scorecard-like order sheet. You can place an additional order, but there’s a tremendous delay between when you turn in your form and when you get your sushi.
These places shouldn’t bill themselves as sushi bars. Maybe they should advertise as Japanese restaurants with a demonstration kitchen. Because as sushi bars, they fail to live up to anything but low expectations — they certainly don’t delight.
The same lesson applies to your medical practice.
Certainly, simply meeting your patients’ expectations in terms of the standard of care is legally and morally sufficient. But that’s just like the “order form” sushi bar which passes health department inspection but doesn’t delight.
For both the sushi bar and your practice, success requires more than just fresh fish.
