Almost quit my job last Tuesday, then got the weirdest compliment from a patient

Honestly, I was having one of those days where everything went wrong. My 9am no-showed, my next patient complained the whole time about the waiting room music, and I accidentally stabbed myself with a scaler during a cleaning. I was mentally drafting my resignation letter in my head during lunch. Then right before closing, this older guy comes in for a last-minute appointment because his temporary crown fell off. I got it back on in like 15 minutes and he looked me dead in the eye and said 'you have the hands of a safe cracker, not a hygienist.' It was so random and sincere that I actually laughed for the first time all day. Has anyone else had a patient or customer say something so oddly specific it totally flipped your mood?

2 comments

2 Comments

gray_patel10d ago

Barnes makes a good point, those little moments really just band-aid over a rough day. Still, sometimes a band-aid is exactly what you need to get through to closing time. That safe cracker line is the kind of weird, specific compliment that sticks with you way longer than a normal "good job" would. Ever had a patient say something so left field it caught you off guard like that?

barnes.shane10d ago

You have the hands of a safe cracker" is such a bizarre compliment it's hard not to laugh. But honestly, I think it shows how desperate we are for any kind of human moment in those awful days. It doesn't really fix the problems with your job, you know, just papers over them for a little while.