Why Did The Neurologist Call Her Patient at 11 PM? Because She Could.

For the most part, we all become products of professional environments.

I think some of the best examples of this involves politicians who campaign on changing the status quo. Yet no matter the individual intentions, the chances of one person jumping in the water ain’t gonna change the course of that iceberg no matter how hard they try.

Of course, there are always exceptions. I always think of what Manhattan was like before Rudy Giuliani was elected mayor. In 1994, I was already a few years into college, so I was old enough that the pictures in my head of midtown are vivid, as is the memory of getting robbed on West 42nd Street around nine o’clock in the evening when there were still plenty of pedestrians milling about. Not long after being voted into City Hall, and the 42nd Street of the seventies and eighties was long gone thanks mostly due to the will of one man who decided he would try to do things in a way other than they had been done before.

However, for most of us, it’s usually easier to settle into the routine of a new environment than it is to challenge the status quo, especially in the private sector where rocking the boat too much can quickly lead to an escorted walk to the door and a pat on the back from human resources. Better luck next time, pal.

Nowhere have I been more sensitive to this than since I chose the self-employment path in the legal industry. Lawyers, unlike the majority of other business professionals with whom I’ve worked, are the least likely individuals to respond to informal inquiries. Getting a return call from another attorney within two to three days of leaving a voicemail is the norm rather than the exception. I’ve even referred clients to colleagues who never bothered to call or email to even acknowledge the referral, let alone express anything within driving distance of gratitude.

I have to admit that, working in such an environment, there have been times when I’d receive an email from another attorney and think, “You want a reply? Write a letter.” Replying on a Monday to a voicemail received at three o’clock on a Thursday seemed acceptable. Or ignoring any communication from an adversary outside of papers filed with the court started to almost feel . . . normal.

But it’s not normal. Far from it, actually. It’s discourteous, to say the least. And it’s that lack of courtesy that served as motivation when I first began to practice. I clearly remember thinking, “I’ll beat the competition with better client service alone.”

Whether I’m beating the competition or not, that remains to be seen because this thing I’m doing is more like a marathon rather than a sprint. However, what will never change is that I don’t want to be the attorney whose actions are defined by the behavior of the legal field in general. It’s just too easy to do better.

With some exceptions, my phone is almost always with me. (It’s always a joke when you’re talking to someone who, despite glancing at his or her phone every nine seconds, tells you they didn’t get the email you sent the other day.) Sure, I put my phone down near six every evening to spend time with my family, but when the fun starts to die down near eight or nine p.m., take a guess what I’m doing? Yeah, I’m checking my work email and I’m not ashamed to admit it. I don’t punch a clock at nine a.m. and then head out the door without a care in the world near five p.m.

Why not? Because doing so doesn’t require more than a few minutes to address any inquiries that have since arrived. There’s a lot to be said for not keeping people waiting, so a small amount of effort goes a long way.

Years ago, one of my in-laws relayed an anecdote about a neurologist leaving her a voicemail close to eleven p.m. so she had recent test results that had come back normal.

99.4% of doctors, a statistic I just fabricated based on my own experiences, are not going to call patients after business hours, but this particular neurologist, for whatever reason, decided he would break from the norm.

Do you think his patients appreciate his extra effort? Would you?