Yesterday I went to the doctor. It was no big deal, just a checkup, but I wanted to relay my experience. I arrived in the waiting room (on time) and went to the glass window. I stood outside the window, the receptionist was on the phone, so I waited for her to hang up and she slid open the glass. “Yes?” she said, and I replied, “Kevin Hoyle here to see the Doctor.” Her response was, “Take a seat” and the glass slid closed.
Fifteen minutes later a door flung open and a white clad woman said “Kevin?” I stood and followed her wordlessly through labyrinth of examining rooms. We arrived at a room and she said, “The Doctor will be right with you”, and she walked out, closing the door.
Thirty eight minutes later, I had completed my survey of the examining room. The tuning forks were pretty cool, there was nothing of interest in any of the cabinets or drawers, and I was tired of looking at cutaway models of people’s heads. I was highly disappointed that the examining gloves are no longer made of latex because they cannot be inflated like the older ones. Suddenly the door swung open, the doctor had arrived.
Four minutes later the Doctor had completed his work and told me he would see me again in a year. On departing, he handed me some papers and told me to take them to people at the desk on the way out.
I walked to the desk and waited as the woman sitting there sorted some papers. She did not look up; she did not acknowledge that I was there, or that I even existed. I cleared my throat… nothing. I shuffled my papers on the counter...nothing.
Finally I said, “Am I in the right place? The doctor told me to stop at this desk.” She sighed, still holding the papers in her hand and said, “Yes...?”, followed by another sigh. Her associate, who was also sitting at the counter, got up and said, “I’ll get that for you Helen”. She took the paperwork from me and made copies.
When she returned she said, “So, you are scheduled for an appointment next week”. I said, “No I’m scheduled for an appointment next year.” She didn’t believe me. “Well, I have to schedule for an appointment next week, the doctor checked the next week box.” I explained that the One Week box was next to the One Year box and he had probably made a mistake, but she still didn’t believe me. She said, “I will have to check with the doctor” and walked away.
Ten minutes later, I walked out of the doctor’s office without saying anything; I had waited far too long.
Twenty minutes later while driving home, I received a phone call from the doctor’s office saying that I needed to schedule an appointment for a year from now, and they wanted to know if 2:30 pm or 3:00 pm would be a better time. I told them that I was driving and I wasn’t sure what I would be doing a year from now.
This is kind of a long story, but it goes to show you that customer service is very elusive commodity.
- I was an inconvenience to the receptionist upon entering the office,
- the person walking me to my room couldn’t even greet me,
- the doctor took 38 minutes to come into my room.
- It became my responsibility to carry paperwork for the doctor to the billing desk
- the billing desk was far too busy to deal with a patient.
- When they did finally did acknowledge me, they couldn’t believe that I was telling the truth and the doctor could have made a mistake.
- When they finally sorted out that the appointment was to be scheduled a year from now, they called me while I was driving and wanted me to make a decision on the spot, for their convenience more than for mine.
The bottom line is that whether we are at the doctor, the supermarket, a restaurant, or dealing with an EDI provider, the customer should be treated with respect and kindness. Let’s make sure we treat all of our customers with respect.
Until next time,
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