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I grew up with a healthy respect for being on time. It was considered rude to show up at the last minute or late. You never, and I mean never ever showed up late. It was the epitome of showing disrespect to those who were waiting on you. Disrespecting someone back then was an entirely different thing then it is now, but nonetheless, it is extremely disrespectful in my eyes.

I went from such an environment to the military where being late was forbidden. I don’t care how you say the word forbidden, you know its meaning and if you have any experience in or with the military you understand. Being on time matters.

This all leads me to the point I wish to rant about. Appointments. Recently, my Wifesty and her best friend went to have girl maintenance done. Manicures and pedicures and the like. My wife made the appointment and they arrived ten minutes early for their appointment and settled in to wait. And wait. And wait some more. 

It got so bad my Wifesty called another salon and asked if they could take a couple of walk-ins right away. Needless to say, my Wifesty and her friend left. When they left, the salon manager decided to try to keep them there. By this time, it was too late. My Wifesty left.

The first salon lost a potential repeat customer. Worse, they drove customers to one of their competitors.

This has not been an unusual phenomenon in the last decade or so. I have experienced this in all aspects of my life. One of the worse groups for this lack of respect for their customers is the health industry. They treat people like they are doing them a big favor. Yes, we as patients need help but we don’t need to be treated with such utter disrespect.

Let me give you an example. Awhile back I needed a physical for my insurance. I decided to use my family doctor even though he had split off from his partners and formed his own office. We had used all three of the doctors, but I had seen this particular physician most of all, so I chose him. He had always been thorough, efficient, and friendly. 

I set the appointment. This is where it gets bad. I had no choice but to set an appointment at eleven o’clock since he didn’t open until ten. Didn’t begin to see patients until eleven so I got the very first appointment. Or so I thought. 

I arrived a half hour early as you do at doctor’s appointments so I could fill out the insurance forms and what not. Completed it all and took a seat only to notice a large group of people shuffle in. It didn’t concern me really. I was there for a simple physical. His physician assistant could perform my physical easily and I could be done and gone.

 

I didn’t need the doctor to draw blood, take my weight, and all the other smaller items. All I needed him was for ten minutes to sign off on the checklist I filled out in the forms and certify me fit for work. Like I said, I didn’t even need him. He had a physician’s assistant on staff who could get me in and out. 

Eleven o’clock came and went. As did 11:15, 11:30. At 11:45 I got up and asked the receptionist when I was going to be seen. She rudely told me the doctor was busy and I should take a seat. At this point my blood began to boil. I informed her I was the first person scheduled for the day and asked why I hadn’t been seen yet. She informed me since all I was there for was a physical, they bumped me.

By this time, I was hot. So hot you could boil an egg on my forehead. I made enough noise the office manager came out. I told her I needed to be seen. I had made the appointment for 11:00 and was told I was the first person who would be seen. Why hadn’t I even had my weight taken? 

By this time, it’s noon. I demanded to be seen and was told the doctor was on lunch now.

I don’t normally lose it in a public place. In fact, I try to avoid any altercation or confrontation. I would normally have simply walked out and never returned. Instead, I blew up. I told them I was leaving, and they could remove me from their patient list. This is when the office manager decided to inform me before I left, I had to pay a fee for taking up a chair in their waiting room. She told me if I intended to leave, I must pay them for the privilege of sitting in their waiting room.

This is where I snapped. I stopped being mad. I pulled out my invoice pad. I wrote them an invoice for eight hours of lost time and handed it to the office manager who laughed. She told me I couldn’t bill them. I had made an appointment and they were not responsible for any lost time at work I incurred. 

She continued to tell me the law was on her side. I had made the appointment and if I left before being seen, I would have to pay the waiting room fee. If I left, they would bill me double plus the cost of the attorney’s fees for collection. 

I simply smiled. I told her to call their lawyer. When I refused to leave, she threatened to call the police. I told her I would wait for the cops, but if she were smart, she would get their lawyer on the phone.

She called their lawyer. He told her since I had not been seen at the appointed time, or within a reasonable time frame, I had a case, and it would cost them more if he went to court for them than if they paid me.

At this point the doctor came out. He said he would make an exception and see me right away. I laughed. By this time, it was almost one o’clock in the afternoon. I handed him the bill. He scoffed until the office manager told him what the lawyer said. Told him it would cost him five grand if the lawyer got involved. 

The doctor told me I wasn’t welcome in his office anymore. He did pay me though. He paid all the others that day who he hadn’t seen.

I often wondered what the law considers an unreasonable amount of time to wait. For me it is fifteen minutes. If I have to wait longer, I take action. For others it is an hour. For others, they will sit and wait as long as it takes.

For whatever reason, the health care community believes that their time is far more valuable than ours and they dare to charge us for the privilege.

I commend my Wifesty for getting up and leaving. Commend her even more for sitting in the waiting room of the salon who were blatantly disrespecting her and calling their competitors.

There are many who would defend the salon’s attitude. Who would defend them as being too busy or what not. Let be perfectly clear here. I DON’T CARE. I will never care. If you are over booked, then tell the customer. Never, ever show them such little courtesy as to think their time is not as valuable as yours. They have customers to attend to and customers require customer service, and the first tenet of customer service is showing your customer you value their time. Period. No more discussion.  

 

I don’t like confrontations. I hate them. I hate being drawn into one because of something as simple as being seen on time. If I make a reservation at a restaurant, I expect to be seated and served on time. If I make a doctor’s appointment, I expect to be seen on time. If I’m a walk-in, I am on my own and I know this. However, even then I expect some courtesy. I expect to be told and kept informed about how long it will take. If it changes, so be it; I am a walk-in and it is my choice to stay or go, but if I have an appointment, I damn well deserve the courtesy of them being as on time as I am. Period. 

I’m Ross, The Editor-in-Chief at The Pyrateheart Press and I’m out.