y use to his battery business, but, as a
matter of fact, the battery man can learn much that is valuable from
the doctor's methods of handling trouble. The doctor greets a patient
courteously and always waits for him to tell what his symptoms are. He
then examines the patient, asking questions based on what the patient
tells him, to bring out certain points which will help in making an
accurate diagnosis. Very often such questioning will enable the doctor
to determine just what the nature of the illness is. But he does not
then proceed to write out a prescription without making an
examination. If he did, the whole case might just as well have been
handled over the telephone. No competent physician will treat patients
from a distance. Neither will he write out a prescription without
making a physical examination of the patient. The questioning of the
patient and the physical examination always go together, some
questions being asked before an examination is made to give an
approximate idea of what is wrong and some during the examination to
aid the doctor in making an accurate diagnosis.

The patient expects a doctor to listen to his description of the
symptoms and to be guided by them in the subsequent examination, but
not to arrive at a conclusion entirely by the description of the
symptoms. A patient very often misinterprets his pains and aches, and
tells the doctor that he has a certain ailment. Yet the doctor makes
his examination and determines what the trouble is, and frequently
find a condition which is entirely different from what the patient
suspected. He then prescribes a treatment based on his own conclusions
and not on what the patient believes to be wrong.

Calling for Batteries. A doctor treats many patients in his office,
but also makes his daily calls on others. Similarly, the battery
repairman should have a service truck for use in calling for
customers' batteries, especially where competition is keen. Some car
owners cannot bring their cars to the repair shop during working
hours, and yet if they knew that they could have their battery called
for and have a rental battery installed, they would undoubtedly have
their battery tested and repaired more frequently. In some instances a
battery will be so badly run down that the car cannot be started, and
the car is allowed to stand idle because the owner does not care to
remove his battery, carry it to a service station and carry a rental
battery with him.