Many welcomed the prospect, thinking that competition was bound to improve the quality of service.
The demise last month of Global Health has shown just how ephemeral such hopes were. Now, Moscow residents, used to complaining about shoddy if not illegal treatment from Russian state and private enterprises, can better comprehend that this country does not have a corner on the market when it comes to inferior service or passing the buck.
A number of Global Health members have complained to The Moscow Times, as outlined in Elizabeth Owen's article in this issue, that Global Health is giving them the runaround about obtaining refunds on the remaining portion of their membership fees.
That could well be explained by the problems common to any business failure -- painstaking processes are involved in determining priority of creditors.
Worse, the clinic continued to sell memberships practically up to the time it closed its doors and never informed clients that they could be buying a pig in a poke. Many clients also complained that the company never informed them that it had closed. They either found out from articles in the press or by phoning the clinic and asking.
Common courtesy demanded that Global Health come out with a public announcement and individually notify its members that it was discontinuing service, and advise clients on how they could apply for refunds for the unused portion of their membership.
Instead, the three American companies that jointly own Global Health appear to be concerned mainly about ducking for cover and pointing the finger elsewhere.
Of the three owners, only Pepsico has offered any information or advice and even it tried to place the onus on representatives in Moscow who, in turn, either refused to comment or referred questions back to Pepsico.
Global Health's tenure in Moscow was ill-starred right from the start. It became embroiled in a messy lawsuit with its main rival, the American Medical Center, which is still continuing. Even when it finally got clearance, the opening was delayed because the clinic could not get its equipment through customs in time.
That made a mockery of the theme of one of their ads which said: "Before our physicians come to Moscow, they do their homework ... in advance." That was a reference to the training of the staff -- but the company also should have done some homework on how to treat clients in event of failure.
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