> Because their customers, who they built a trusting relationship with, get hosed when the owner wants to cash out.

Sure, and it's often a real loss to customers, but are you suggesting mandating that you vet the person you're selling to for their business aspirations and then have some kind of legal covenant that binds them to those stated aspirations, enforced by...something?

Otherwise we can just be satisfied with shaming them, but seems like an awfully convenient way to sidetrack this conversation from the obvious remedies.

> That cash out comes from the future business increasing profit, which is over the longest term cutting service quality.

Which is a problem when the same person buying also bought up all the other dentist offices, so there's no choice, let alone competition, in services.

Eliminate that and the sweetheart buyout offers make a lot less financial sense and we can at least prevent the scales from tippng so steeply toward PE buying up all the dentists, hospitals, retirement homes, HVAC repair, roofing companies, pest control, etc etc