The first, a baby tooth that never fell out, flared up on a weekend last year. New to Dayton, I didn't have a dentist, and the pain was too great for me to take the time to ask around for recommendations. So I pulled up my insurance company's list of dentists and started calling.

Then it exploded. Still sitting in the lobby, I heard a man talking angrily in the back. He spit the words, "They should just go ahead and let him die. ... I don't have time to swoop in like Superman. He's old enough. Let him die."

The next hour proved to be one of the worst experiences of my life. The dentist's approach to patient care was as callous as his words. He continued to complain about this dying man -- his father! -- as he hovered over me with dental tools. I became a sweaty, crying mess, convulsing in the chair as he extracted my tooth.

I spend the next two hours recovering at home. I went on to work, but couldn't concentrate. I wanted to call and complain, but then I realized he had never told me his name. I just call him "Butcher Dentist."

We started by talking about the procedure. He went over a list of things that could happen and how he takes out the tooth. He was pleasant and funny and confident. And I was as relaxed as you can be before having a tooth pulled. And when he finished, he talked to me about what to expect for the next few days.

This is a story about two teeth, but it's also a story about vast differences in our health care system. The same town, the same procedure, but different dentists and wildly different patient experiences.

It also says something about customer service. The tone that you, or your employees, set carries over to your customers. Maybe Butcher Dentist should have not come to work that day if he couldn't handle his stress and anger. He treated me like an object. He blamed me.

The bad thing is that he's not covered by my insurance. I've yet to get a recommendation for anyone who is. But another business lesson emerges: Customers are willing to pay for quality. So I'll pay more to go somewhere that I feel comfortable. After Butcher Dentist, I'm not taking any chances.

This is cache, read story here