Finally at 8:55, the doors opened and we went in. They called Ashlie back after about 5 minutes. Dom and I sat in the waiting room. Other people started to arrive and 3 more people were called into the back offices.
So we waited...and waited...and waited. More and more people came in. At one point, we counted 27 people in the waiting room, sitting on chairs, standing by the wall, sitting on the floor.
Finally at 10:30, I walked into the back. A technician was working on Ashlie. I mentioned that she had been back there for over 1 1/2 hours - the tech said she'd be finished in about 5 minutes. The holdup, she said, was that they had to wait for the doctor to check her and issue the treatment plan for the day - and the doctor was running late.
OK, we were there on time. We had consideration for the doctor and his staff and arrived early so that they wouldn't have to wait for us. But what about the doctor? Where was he at 9:00 a.m. when his first patients were scheduled? Definitely not in his office where he should have been. Where was his consideration for us and the other 27 people waiting for him? Is his time more valuable than his patients' time?
It's not just this one time. I've seen this happen at many other places. Is consideration for others a lost trait? Is everyone so self-centered that they think they are the only people in the world and they don't give two shits (sorry) about others?
As were were walking out (finally) and family walked in, the husband carrying a little baby about 3 months old. I wonder if that man knew the baby would be a teenager before they got out of the office?
UPDATE: I just heard from my daughter. Ashlie told her that the dentist didn't get into the office this morning until 10:30 and that they couldn't do what was scheduled to be done on her because too many patients were backed up and they didn't have the time. So now, Ashlie has to go one more month with her braces (they were supposed to come off at her next appointment) and Susan has to take another 4 hours off work to take her (I'll take her so Susan doesn't have to take more time off) - all because an inconsiderate dentist who thinks he's better than everyone else and can waltz in whenever he feels like it and doesn't care who has to wait for him didn't feel like getting to work on time this morning. And this isn't the first time - Ashlie always has a 9:00 a.m. appointment and is hardly ever out before 10:00 a.m., even when the actual work on her mouth only takes about 5 minutes. Susan has a call in to the office manager for tomorrow morning. That lady is going to get an earful - my daughter pulls no punches!
3 comments:
That is totally unacceptable. I can understand it when the doctor has been called to an emergency, but they should tell you right away when that happens.
When I went to the Drs office a few weeks ago I signed in and realized there were 4 people scheduled for the same time I was and with the same Dr. Have ins. companies made Drs. schedule so many patients in one day just so they can make a decent living! I know the Dr. was late in your granddaughters case and that is unacceptable! If we started charging the Drs. for the time we spend waiting for them, I think they would start taking their appts. seriously don't you?
My husband is a physician and routinely, unfortunately, runs an hour or so late. It's not that HE is late getting there -- he's always there on time -- but people tend to want to talk and talk and talk and he's just the kind of person who listens...it's hell if he does and hell if doesn't. If he doesn't listen, then he'll hear about that; if he takes up too much time, then he hears about that from other patients who are waiting (who also want to talk and talk...) He just does the best he can but he never runs late on purpose. I'm not saying that that doesn't happen -- sure it does -- but sometimes -- occasionally -- there are reasons. As far as the "double -- or more -- booking", I don't think he does this but I can tell you that every single day, he has patients who don't show up and this is simply a way to keep the time filled so that he's not sitting around twiddling his thumbs -- unfortunately, when everybody DOES show up, that also lends to slowing the appointments down. Unfortunately, with the changes that are coming, this problem is going to be compounded.
Post a Comment