Once again, I had an unpleasant visit to a doctor’s office. They can be the biggest waist of time and they don’t seem to care a hoot!
Today’s adventure comes on the heels of Monday’s adventure; a visit scheduled over a month and a half ago. Seems the doctor decided to take the day after Easter off; perfectly within his rights to do so. The rub comes from the fact that nobody saw fit to notify me. Additionally, my wife had taken off from work to accompany me to this rather unpleasant procedure.
I show up and then am informed that the doc is not in and I need to reschedule. I also need some lab work accomplished and a CT scan finished prior to seeing the doc. We went next door right away and had blood work drawn in lab conveniently located and scheduled the CT scan for today, Wednesday, 15 Apr 09. We couldn’t get another appointment to see the Doc until the 1st of May; although I had done no wrong.
I arrived today at 0850 hrs for my 0900 hrs appointment and was told to have a seat; actually the guy signing-in just before me was told that and the window shut. I had a seat and fifty-five (55) minutes later I decided I had had enough and advised the receptionist that I was leaving. She immediately exclaimed: “Didn’t they call you back for the CT?” I responded: “NO and I am leaving!” I will not go into the inept operation I experienced last year with your CT operator – that was an ordeal in itself.
Not one person ever came out to advise me or anyone-else for that matter, that things were running behind. Nobody had that assignment or if they did; they so reluctantly dread it, they never do it. I had had enough.
Once before a couple years back, I had been left for almost three hours in this same facility without any thought or concern. They just don’t seem to care! Where else is kind of behavior acceptable? Nowhere, to my knowledge. They just wouldn’t get away with it anywhere-else. If this was a business where you could walk out and go next door to their competitor and get satisfaction; they wouldn’t stay in business long. Doctor specialist don’t seem to get it. They know that it could take you months to get set up with another doctor; so they allow their staff to get away with this kind of behavior.
You shouldn’t have to stand for it!
After arriving home, I put together a letter and turned it over to the US Mail notifying the Doc that I was gonna seek out another physician to provide the service his staff obviously didn’t see fit to provide. Don’t take it. Stand up and tell them: “You’re fired!”
I spent many years running “support operations” at many, many places in my career in manufacturing and the military. I never once came across an operation as bad as this one.
Bravo! Not much makes me feel as irrelevant as a trip to my physician's office. I can count on a 45+ minute wait even though I arrived for the scheduled "appointment" 10 minutes before. Then when I finally get to see doctor the visit lasts all of 3 minutes when he's feeling chatty. After my last visit I couldn't help but groan over the thought that while I waited an hour and 20 minutes only about 5 patients were seen before me. Even if the doc went above and beyond with each patient and spent 5 minutes with each the time still doesn't add up.
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