Techs who have not been out to the Desert may not be aware that the private healthcare sector is very much in evidence out there, with private clinics in almost every village of any size, and small (and some not so small) private hospitals in every town. And these days (as I have remarked before) Riyadh may well deserve the title of "medical city of the Middle East".
Whilst bearing in mind the other threads currently in play, I am now ready to pose the question:- "if PM is so wonderful, how come it's so hard to sell"?
Some years ago (out in the Kingdom) I set out to do just that. Many of the small hospitals I visited were very pleased when I delivered nice inventory lists for them to admire (having previously had ... er, nothing), but try as I might, I was never able to get any of them to sign up to PM visits per se.
Perhaps this should not comes as a surprise in a country where the inshallah mentality is not only de facto amongst the majority of the population, but is also official policy as well, but the best I managed was two six-monthly visits to "check" equipment. That, plus the occasional one-off repair. And, I might add, for lump-sum figures (no chance of hourly rates being creamed off there)!
Effectively (as far as fixed-price repairs were concerned), we were (I was) in competition with the official in-Kingdom agents (that is, the manufacturers' appointees, who had - and probably still do have - a monopoly, especially when it comes to gouging the customer). I could always beat them on price, but getting hold of parts was always the problem. But there were ways ... but here I digress.
Yes, in the Riyal World, PM is a hard sell. And I suppose that the lesson to be drawn is that it can only be done with any degree of success in countries where healthcare providers are "encouraged" (frightened?) by government legislation to have the kit looked at on a regular basis.
Although (of course) I advocate PM myself, you might imagine that an old Sheikh who owns a clinic or small hospital might see things rather differently, and simply prefer the "repair when necessary" model!
But (come to think of it now), the one "model" I didn't try was "Free PM" ... but, to be honest, even I can spot the flaw in that one!
