Fairbanks Court Assisted Living

Response from the owner

Thank you for this review, Karin, and my sincerest apologies for not recognizing you. I was not expecting to speak at all, and just came to pay my respects. You have my condolences and gratitude for the chance to care for your sweet mom at the very end. But walkie-talkies is a non-derogatory term we all use! Not going to stop using that funny term that helps us to keep a heavy business as light as possible. But I will receive that feedback to recognize that some may hear that term as a lack of respect or compassion, though it definitely isn’t. I’d also hate to think that by attending the service instead of forgoing it, that I earned us a detrimental review, but such is life. God bless and I hope I get the chance to apologize to you in person.

Response from the owner

Brenda, Thank you so much for taking the time to write this review. I know you’ve never been to Fairbanks Court, nor have you had a loved one under our care. But we did dismiss your daughter from our employment because she was stealing from us, so I can understand your need to seek revenge and fight her battles for her instead of letting her learn from her mistakes. And I’m grateful that you didn’t make up anything untruthful regarding the quality of the care we provide. Based on what you didn’t say, this may be the most glowing one-star review of all time. The truth is this review is highly accurate and truly representative of the myriad challenges that come with owning a small home for elderly persons. Hurricanes shut down power for days. Appliances go out when it’s least convenient. Various items we need aren’t available as expected. Your review effectively highlights the creative, generous, and painstaking solutions it requires to take care of people 24/7. Some challenges are external, such as power outages and supply chain issues, but others are internal, such as employees who feel entitled to employment. This review encompasses both in eloquent detail. One expects the external challenges, but no one prepares you for how hard it is to let a bad employee go, no matter how right the decision is. To make that decision is always the last resort and brings with it a host of other problems: more hiring, more training, more risk. You suffer through as long as possible in the hopes that she will turn things around. And there’s the substantial risk that if you fire her, she might enlist her mom to publicly defame your business on the internet. But eventually you do what has to be done with the belief that it’s best for both parties, not just for the business but for her too, as a chance to receive the correction and become a better person. I love your last line: “Lots of other things that need to be addressed.” Truer words were never spoken. After nine years of operating this home and holding the hands of someone else’s dying loved one hundreds of times, there are always things that need to be addressed. Though our state inspection of Jan. 14 and our food and safety inspection of Jan. 17 passed with 100% marks, I agree that we can always do better. You should see the list of things I need to address just this week! This review is the opportunity I’ve been looking for because it gives me the platform to show potential customers who we really are. It’s a chance to publicly say that, yes, this is possibly the hardest career path for which I could’ve chosen to leave my oil and gas engineering role. I can’t imagine anything more stressful or emotional than having the lives and deaths of 16 beautiful people as my responsibility on a continuous basis. Then there’s hiring, managing, disciplining, and firing employees, which is even harder in some respects. But we stay the course because it’s a calling from the Lord, and I can’t imagine anything more rewarding. So, thank you. I wish you and your daughter, our former employee of 16 months, all the best. Apparently any gratitude for the time, training, and money invested in her is too much to ask. If you have any interest in actually visiting Fairbanks Court for the first time to see the business that you reviewed/defamed, I will gladly meet you and show you our lovely home. Perhaps you’ll then see us in a different light than through your current lens of prejudiced bitterness. Either way, I will forever look to this review as reminder of the challenges of this business, internal and external, that we have faced and overcome. God Bless, David Gober Fairbanks Court Assisted Living 832-867-7851 david@fcal.com