Polite Spine?

[Morticia]

I am currently sitting in a waiting room. I had a 9 am appointment so I could get to work in a timely fashion. They open at 9. I have been told she is "just finishing up" with someone else. How can I politely express my displeasure with their lack of respect for my time?  This is not the first time, which is why I specifically booked the first appointment.

[Oh Joy]

What kind of service is this?

[Hmmmmm]

I would go to the desk and ask "For future reference, what is the first appointment of the day?  I had made my appointment for 9am so that I could make work on time but the delay is impacting my schedule."

Once, I was going to the doctor and the nurse took my blood pressure and commented "Your blood pressure is reading on the high side."  My response was "Yes, having to wait 30 minutes past my appointment time seems to have that effect on my blood pressure." 

[Morticia]

What kind of service is this?

Physio

[oceanus]

Honestly, I don’t think anything you say will make a difference.  By that I mean regardless of what you say, you’ll be given an excuse, maybe an apology, and you’ll be known as ‘difficult’ and ‘impatient’.  Or they will check and come back to tell you it’ll only be a few minutes.  Yeah, right.

In your situation – where waiting beyond a few minutes creates a problem for me – what I’ve done is go up to the check-in desk or whatever and said “Apparently X is running behind schedule.  I have to leave.”  Then reschedule, or find another provider and don’t go back.
 

[Alpacas]

Honestly, I don’t think anything you say will make a difference.  By that I mean regardless of what you say, you’ll be given an excuse, maybe an apology, and you’ll be known as ‘difficult’ and ‘impatient’.  Or they will check and come back to tell you it’ll only be a few minutes.  Yeah, right.

In your situation – where waiting beyond a few minutes creates a problem for me – what I’ve done is go up to the check-in desk or whatever and said “Apparently X is running behind schedule.  I have to leave.”  Then reschedule, or find another provider and don’t go back.

Not always. Sometimes telling them (or the Doctor responsible) about this, will help.  (Story #1 in my first Post on this forum: http://www.etiquettehell.com/smf/index.php?topic=113957.msg2672919#msg2672919 )

[oceanus]

Not always. Sometimes telling them (or the Doctor responsible) about this, will help.

Maybe sometimes, but usually not and certainly not always.

[Lynn2000]

If you took the first appointment slot, at 9am, how could they be finishing up with someone else before you? Not doubting you, just saying that strikes me as an odd excuse to give--not very credible.

Although they should make every effort to keep the appointments going on time, I personally never set my schedule such that I need to be in and out quickly. There's just too much potential for delays, I think. I always think to myself, "Well, I want them to take their time with me, so I can't blame them for taking their time with others." That is just me, though; I don't blame others for being irritated, letting appointments routinely run late is unprofessional, and not everyone has a flexible schedule.

[TootsNYC]

Not always. Sometimes telling them (or the Doctor responsible) about this, will help.

Maybe sometimes, but usually not and certainly not always.

I remember once I waited half a day for a surgical follow-up--so did a whole bunch of other people worse off than me. it was awful--we were scared to leave to get lunch. The woman handling the appointments wasn't helpful at ALL. I offered to come back on another day; she said no, just stay.

When I finally got into the doctor's office, I told him about the troubles. And he said, "You have to talk to her about that." I said, "We did--it wasn't helpful. Aren't you her boss? I expect you to care about how your patients are treated by the support staff at this medical center."

[Morticia]

If you took the first appointment slot, at 9am, how could they be finishing up with someone else before you? Not doubting you, just saying that strikes me as an odd excuse to give--not very credible.

Although they should make every effort to keep the appointments going on time, I personally never set my schedule such that I need to be in and out quickly. There's just too much potential for delays, I think. I always think to myself, "Well, I want them to take their time with me, so I can't blame them for taking their time with others." That is just me, though; I don't blame others for being irritated, letting appointments routinely run late is unprofessional, and not everyone has a flexible schedule.

I gather they double booked the slot, and took the other appointment first because mine would take longer.  I have decided to solve the problem (they don't seem to believe this kind of tardiness is a problem), by booking the rest of my appointments for this run after work. I'll bring something to read, and expect to wait. Sadly, going somewhere else isn't an option.

[Adelaide]

The clinic I used to work at was open at 7 or 7:30 every day for people who needed lab work done and nothing else. They didn't start seeing patients for general appointments until 9. I'm not saying that's a good excuse, but a doctor could have been stuck talking to a lab patient.

I'm with the others who say that if you express irritation you'll be seen as somewhat difficult to deal with, even if you're as polite as possible. If you have to leave just say what oceanus said. In reality, telling a receptionist whose name the doctor probably doesn't even know won't solve the problem. The receptionist would go to her manager with any issues and the manager would deal with you and smile and look polite, but it would stay within the "business" staff and probably not get around to the actual medical side of things unless you said something directly to the doctor, which is always an option, but might not go anywhere in particular.

Again, it's not a good excuse but a lot of times there are abnormal results and/or patients that take up more time than is planned for, which can cause everyone to get behind.

[m2kbug]

I think the best thing you can do is not put to too much emphasis on running on time.  Doctors never run on time.  If the wait is this long, consistently, find someplace else to go if you have a choice.  Usually they try to run on schedule, but I have found that between waiting room time and then the "teaser wait," when they put you in a room, you're easily behind schedule by 15-20 minutes.  I have had to wait longer and have also been seen very quickly.  I have expressed that my time is valuable too, and we know they know this and surely they do their best to remain on schedule.  I have asked the receptionist if this long a wait is typical.  I can certainly find another doctor if this is how they generally run their practice. 

Not too long ago, I was in the waiting room for more than an hour.  They asked me to be there a half an hour early for the paperwork process (quite a bit of it).  Then I waited another 45 minutes to be seen.  I did ask the receptionist if this type of running behind schedule was typical, to which she replied that no, it was not, and this has held true.  Again, I expect a delay, but I have no intentions of having to sit 45 minutes past my appointment time with any regularity.   

[Redneck Gravy]

A lot of times I think you have to know the background of the practice... double booking for example.

If you are seeing a physician that has morning hospital rounds they will frequently be running late to their office,

If someone tells a patient to be there first thing in the morning they will "work" them in, you may be held up,

Any specialist that is on call for emergencies may have to run out the door just prior to your appointment or an obstetrician may have to run deliver a baby, etc.

I am the first to say it is very frustrating and once billed a physician's office for an hour of my time - which they credited to my account. I asked if they were running late when I arrived and specifically asked if the doctor was on site.  The doctor called me that evening and apologized saying he had been called away for an emergency, I asked why didn't your receptionist just say so to begin with? 

I hope if I ever have an emergency (which I have) and my physician has to be summoned to the hospital (which he was) that others understand - like I do, that is why they are called emergencies.   

Patients are customers and physicans are providers of a service, common courtesy is expected by both parties IMO.   

[DottyG]

The doctor called me that evening and apologized saying he had been called away for an emergency, I asked why didn't your receptionist just say so to begin with?

True.  And this is the key point.  Just be HONEST with us.  If the doctor has been called away for something, that's fine.  Just be honest with me and tell me that.  I can then make the informed decision to reschedule or wait.

And this applies to all doctors.  I have a wonderful vet's office.  Not long ago, I scheduled an appointment for one of my cats during the day.  The vet wasn't on time for the appointment.  But someone came in to tell me that she was running behind because another animal had come in after something happened (I can't remember now exactly what it was, but it was absolutely an emergency type of situation).  By all means, go take care of that animal.  Please!  That's priority, and I can wait.  I really appreciated the fact that they were up-front with me in just letting me know what was going on.  It really is that simple.  Respect us as you expect to be respected BY us.

[oceanus]

the "teaser wait," when they put you in a room,

I find this irritating.  Once you’re in a room, you’re told “The doctor will be right with you” or “It’ll just be a few minutes”.  These phrases just roll off their tongues.  It’s always longer, sometimes a lot longer.

While there have been times when the wait is short, my experience has been it’s usually a lot longer than what they say it will be. 

Sometimes it’s better to try to schedule late in the day – i.e. be the last patient instead of the first.