An ethical question

Need advice. I had a presumably excellent orthodontist who also did
general practice. Then I gave birth, quit my job and got divorced. All
of the sudden, I found myself with no money at all, and lots of dental
work to do. I admitted to my dentist that I can't afford him right now.
In my naivette, I even suggested that he does only the most challenging
work, while allowing me to delegate less challenging work to someone
not as brilliant (and expensive) as himself; I also asked him about the
quality of oversees dental work.

This, apparently, is a very wrong thing to say to a dentist. Why? In
our line of business, in software engineering, we have
consultants/architects paid $150/hour and entry-level folks paid maybe
$20/hour, not to mention outsourcing; I can't imagine an architect
going ballistic over involvement of more junior staff in a software
project; wonder why is this not the case with the dentists?

Anyway, the dentist got so angry with me that he refused to see me in
an emergency appointment. Just left me alone in pain without as much as
a referral. The irony is, I can afford him now, got enough money, he
just does not know it.

So - is this normal? Did I say something offensive, to such a degree as
to justify his action?

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: An ethical question
    ... our line of business, in software engineering, we have ... consultants/architects paid $150/hour and entry-level folks paid maybe ... wonder why is this not the case with the dentists? ... The irony is, I can afford him now, got enough money, he ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: An ethical question
    ... new dentists to slide in, just under the more senior dentists. ... the recpetionist so they get the best NEW patients! ... our line of business, in software engineering, we have ... consultants/architects paid $150/hour and entry-level folks paid maybe ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)