Spin Doctors

As a result of public outcry against the Jordanian public medical system, an investigation has been launched into the circumstances surrounding the neglect and medical misconduct of the father of Jordanian blogger, Who-sane. But apparently the Ministry of Health officials responsible for the investigation have never taken a class on quality of service and customer support, as the investigation thus far has the makings of a first class cover-up rather than a fact finding mission.

One of the accusations leveled at Who-sane—via a bullying attempt against his father—is one of disloyalty against the Kingdom through a "harming" smear tactic. The investigators were also concerned about some of the comments and feedback by those who read the initial account, and for good reason. They should pay close attention to the responses and sentiments. Sure some were a little over the top but others were legitimate responses to years of neglect in Jordan's public hospital arena.

I have a book entitled The Brand Gap, which deals with the issues of companies marketing a brand to consumers. The premise of the book rests on a simple, tenable statement: your company isn't who you say you are; it's who others say you are.

The truth of that statement resonates within the comments of all those outraged by this story. Jordan's public medical image is no longer affected by the spin doctors in charge of maintaining face (and a job), but is being called out by the vox populi in an effort to build a better, more responsible system.

The Minister of Health officials need to realize that the people aren't shaming them by calling them out; rather they have shamed themselves if they continue to allow bullying tactics and poor performance to continue.