My dentist is a very nice man. His scheduler is a very nice woman. But the office, as an entity, drives me completely insane almost every time I'm due for an appointment.
Yesterday, I went in for a filling. I left work early for the appointment. I got to the dentist office five minutes early (I've learned not to be any earlier) and waited. And waited. I waited for an hour in the waiting room. Once back in the room, led by a very unapologetic aid, I waited twenty minutes just for the numbing process to begin.
Thankfully, I didn't have to go back to work afterward. But I was still fuming.
This dentist charges $40 if you cancel within 24 hours of your scheduled appointment. Yet they show no respect whatsoever for the jobs and responsibilities of their patients. Everything has to revolve around them. The dentist - once again, a very nice man - left me in the midst of the filling to go finish up other patients. I was tolerant of this merely because it gave me a break from the drilling and the water that sprayed all over my face every time the aid started or stopped the flow.
Someone should tell doctors and dentists that having patients wait for exorbitant periods of time only doubles and triples their anxiety levels, making for a more nervous, antsy, and paranoid patient.
2 comments:
That's why you go in the mornings :) It's the morning patients that back that back up their schedule.
I tried that once....and they had an equipment malfunction, meaning they were late. Besides I can't park on campus after 8am.
And that's no excuse for poor scheduling and a general lack of respect for their patients. Good patient care begins and ends with timeliness, professionalism, and efficiency. Being late is not professional. We're supposed to learn that in elementary school!
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