The one thing guaranteed to get me agitated in almost any part of my life, in any building, in any setting, is being kept waiting way past an appointment time, without being given an explanation or a reason for the wait. I may be old fashioned but I still firmly believe in politeness & respect. People make appointments for me at doctors, hospitals & various medical venues, I make every effort to be at least 10 minutes early at the allotted place. Many (far too many) times I am sat there slowly raising my blood pressure & getting very uncomfortable on some awful plastic seat. All I ask is that one of two things should happen. 1) The appointment happens on time! OR 2)Someone takes a few moments to explain to me why I am being kept waiting and what the new time of appointment completion will be. I don't think that is unreasonable. In fact either one of those two preferred events are much (very much) better than my anger being vented on some receptionist or ill informed 'messenger'. My consultant eventually turned up for our 1:30pm appointment at 2:45pm, calm & breezy to the point of being flippant! He chuckled as he described the "…almost overwhelming…" lunch he had just enjoyed even though his morning had been just ".. frightful…" When I asked why I hadn't been told about his delay, he said with gusto.. "I knew the slight delay would be alright, the staff are usually busy enough anyway without my phone calls."
Is the age of good manners, courtesy & punctuality all gone now? Where is the common respect for each other? Even in other 'Non-Appointment' situations it is commonplace for much more disregard for anything that requires an apology or a brief word of explanation. Manners cost nothing, as my parents taught me. Rant Over !
24 thoughts on “Waiting… I don't !”
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I had a doctor's appointment a few months ago, scheduled for 9:30, which meant that I had to leave my place at 8:00 to get there on time. When I tried to check in on the Kiosk, it informed me that I didn't have an appointment that day. When I asked the clerk about it, he told me that my doctor had called in sick, and that I had to reschedule my appointment for the following day.
I had gotten up much earlier than I normally do, driven for over an hour, was going to have to come back the following day, and they didn't even have the courtesy to call me.
There were two clerks, each had a computer, each had a phone, and it would have taken them all of two minutes per patient to call the doctor's patients, but they didn't. What the heck are we paying them for? To sit on their a$$e$ and drink coffee all day?
To my doctor's credit, she apologized for not being there the day before, and since I was her last patient of the day, she wasn't in any hurry to shove me out the door.
I walked into the eye doctor's office the other day. The appointment is at 6 p.m. and I walked in at 5:45. The receptionist says to me "oh, you are early. We have two people before you! You will have to wait."
Like W.T.F.
Speaking the obvious????
Question.. Do I have to 'rant' to get a spank?.. lol . . . (a man can dream!) . . . ♥
NO, not necessary
Rant away, that's what we're here for. And, we're also good at giving you a right proper spanking if required!!!!
I needed to 'get that off my chest' as it is the thing most likely to make me very angry, I suppose basically I don't like bad manners or disrespect. Rant Over ! (probably..)
At my doctors surgery, the file gets put out according to when you arrive, so if you're late, you go after the person who arrived before you. Only time I'm kept waiting is when doctor gives extra time to a patient. I don't resent that as I have been, on a couple of occasions, needing extra time. I don't go to a medical clinic but to a private practice.
I may be harsh but I think that anyone who is late for an appointment should be made to wait until another 'gap' in the appointments list occurs by someone not arriving on time, or at all. Those of us who are prompt or early should just get the courtesy of correct & polite service. If a genuine reason creates a delay for anyone who is trying to get to an appointment, they could consider making contact and then realising they must drop down the list, so that times can be maintained.
A reason for delays also happens when those planning appointments at GP's or at hospitals, put 2 patients for each appointment time and allot only 5 minutes per person, they assume at least one person will not arrive at all, and the other person can be dealt with in the briefest of times. Not only is this a very incompetent practice, it is very disrespectful to patients.
I feel that the reason most times an appointment is delayed without regard to others feelings is because a large portion of people can't seem to arrive at the time they are supposed to. This is unfair to the people who try to be on time or early. I tend to be early for any thing that requires my appearance at a specific time. I feel that those who are early or on time should be given priority over those who can't be bothered with promptness. I have on more than one occasion been present early and was passed over for the person who arrived late…so poo on appointment makers for not rewarding those who are prompt.
Irritating to no end for me as well I assure you. Here's to hoping some of those that set said appointments are here and paying attention.
I had an appointment once at 11:15 they told me, but really it was at 12. I guess most people are late so they wanted to make sure everybody gets there on time.