Health-care, Travel Industries in U.S. Could Learn From Italians 
Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel; George Smith ; October 7, 2009 

THE HEALTH 

If you are feeling sickly, head to Italy. But avoid New York's JFK airport. 

On the third day of our recent Italian vacation, Linda woke with a swollen eyelid. It got progressively worse, spreading the next day to her cheek and making it difficult to see out of that eye. 

Getting sick away from home is always worrisome. Not knowing what to do, we went to the tourism office in Greve's square, where a very nice English-speaking woman explained our options. 

We could go to a clinic where various specialists visited throughout the week, or we could see Dr. Silva, who just happened to be available until noon in an office on the square. She recommended Dr. Silva, who "speaks very good English." 

She called and let the doctor know we were coming. He poked his head out of his office when we arrived and directed us into the waiting room. He had no receptionist. Five others were seated there so we settled in, expecting a long wait. 

The folks in the waiting room kept track of the queue and every time a patient left the doctor's office, someone popped up and went in. Amazingly, just 12 minutes later, it was our turn. 

The doctor welcomed us in English as he stepped out from behind his desk. He had no nurse but a great personality. Quickly examining Linda and diagnosing an infection, he patiently explained the two treatments he was recommending, a cream applied in and around the eye and a "tablet." 

He charged us 50 Euros, took our money, wrote out a receipt, and sent us over to the pharmacy with two prescriptions. 

We expected to leave the prescriptions, as we would in this country, and return later to pick them up. But in the pharmacy, we noted three pharmacists at a counter, stepped up to one and handed over the prescriptions. The pharmacist filled the prescriptions, charged us 13 Euros and ushered us out of the store less then 3 minutes after we entered. 

Less than half an hour elapsed from the time we entered the doctor's waiting room to the time we exited the pharmacy! The total cost was about $84. And best of all, the prescriptions worked and Lin was feeling much better by the next morning. 

Back home, it would have taken a day to work through the process that took a half hour in Greve and the cost would have been substantially more. 

THE FLIGHTS 

The flights that delivered us to Italy were flawless, and the start of our return home went very smoothly. But our ordeal began at JFK airport. Arriving at JFK four hours before the only flight to Maine, we were stuck in a hot claustrophobic airport with less than half the seating needed by all the travelers waiting for a flight. 

We began to get concerned about an hour before our flight when we noticed that all flights were using just two terminals. As our 7:30 p.m. boarding time approached, they were trying to board, at just one gate, five planes waiting out on the tarmac. Chaos transitioned to anger. 

When we finally got to a ticket taker, she told us to step aside, we had not been "cleared." While I desperately tried for a half-hour to find out what the problem was, the Delta agents ignored us, growing progressively ruder to all who crowded around them. 

Finally, a man explained to me that our plane had loaded too much luggage, was "unbalanced," and had left for Portland with empty seats while a number of ticket-holding customers like us stood in the terminal. 

It was a costly mistake for Delta because they had to put us up in a hotel, buy us two meals, and give each of us a $400 voucher for travel over the next 12 months (Italy, here we come again!). 

Seems to me it would have been better to take off the luggage and fly the customers to Portland. Perhaps this explains why Delta is in bankruptcy. 

But here's the most intriguing thing. On the flight over, Delta served us a terrible chicken dinner. On the flight back, to our surprise, we were served a delicious chicken dinner. 

The difference? The inedible dinner was prepared in New York and the delicious dinner in Italy. 

We Americans think our country does everything best. We are wrong. 

For starters, Delta ought to have all meals prepared in Italy! 

http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/view/columns/6947108.html 

George Smith is executive director of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine. He lives in Mount Vernon and can be reached at george@samcef.org. 
 

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