over-the-top chiropractic sales tactics

Before I could come back for a second appointment, I had to attend a “group briefing” with other clients so that he could explain his “treatment philosophy.” We were encouraged to bring our significant others, since they too should be part of our treatment. My wife was nine months pregnant at the time so it was a bit of an ordeal sitting through his two-hour Tony Robbins-style monologue.

His main point was simple: every problem with the human body — from impotency to cancer to depression — can be traced to a misalignment of the spinal cord. He saw my wife and went on about how important it was to make sure our baby comes in for treatment since the birthing process puts undue stress on an infant’s spinal cord. That got her attention, and that was his goal. And on it went like this with him shouting out rhetorical questions while pointing at a stock x-ray of the Elephant Man’s spine: “Is it a good thing for the spine to be twisted like this?” We felt all smart as we shouted back the expected answers: “Nooooo!” Jim Baker paled in comparison to this guy. Several hours and no breaks later, we were worn out. Each couple then met with the chiropractor one-on-one to discuss their treatment options.

This step took another hour since we had to wait for other would-be disciples to emerge from his office. When it came to us, he had two chairs ready in the corner of his office and he sat himself between us and the door. Above us hung my X-rays, marked up with red pen. He pulled out a piece of paper that looked a lot like a contract. Upon closer examination, I noticed that he had my name emblazoned on it and I was agreeing to a two-year, $7,000 treatment plan. I tried to back out by saying that I’d like to “study” the information he’d presented and get back to him. He stood up and warned me that I “could study it all I wanted” but that he could guarantee that if I walked out the door I would “never come back.” He was right about one thing!