Asking Eric: I’m bothered by a rude opinion about my husband’s upcoming surgery

Dear Eric: My husband will be having elective surgery soon. We recently met a couple and talk turned to my husband’s surgery. The wife immediately told my husband his choice of doctors was horrible. He should definitely not allow this doctor to do his surgery.

I met the same couple a few days later and now she told me that the doctor was dangerous and had no business practicing medicine much less doing surgery.

I cited my lengthy experience in the healthcare field. I also talked to several friends that work at the hospital this doctor operates. These health-care workers all gave him wonderful reviews. He also has excellent Google reviews.

But how do I get this woman to stop telling us how wrong we are? I’m in a situation where we are in the same group several times per week.

– Doctor Debate

Dear Debate: It sounds like this woman has either had an isolated bad experience or is carrying a grudge. Either way, you’ve done your research, so the opinions of a near-stranger don’t really matter.

And you can tell her as much. “Thanks for your concern, but I’m happy with my decision and I am not interested in talking about it anymore. Hopefully, you can respect my boundaries so that we can keep interacting.”