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This is so true. I always ask, are you telling me the time you want me there to fill out paperwork, or the time my actual appointment is? In other words, are you saying my appointment is at 8:15 to get me there early, or is my appointment really at 8:30? Because I don't want to be waiting around.
Some offices are really good at getting you quickly to the examining room - where you wait forever. I guess they figure you won't walk out once you get that far.
I have. After several years of being treated like cattle, I sat in a room for 45 minutes after 15 minutes in the waiting room, and finally got dressed and walked out. I stopped by the check-out desk and told the clerk, "I would like a copy of my medical records please. I have been waiting for over an hour, I am leaving and not coming back. Leaving someone alone in a room without any indication of the the reason for the delay is an indication of a poorly run medical practice. I'm done." Most of the time, it's not "emergencies" -- you're just stuck with a doctor who doesn't have any sense of time, and doesn't have the brains to hire staff to keep him/her focused.
The new practice I went to had excellent reviews on patient satisfaction, and sure enough, they have never been more than 15 minutes off of an appointment time, and even then, they were apologetic.
Rude little witch! When I think of how many times I've sat in a doctor's office 20, 30 or even 60 minutes past an appointment time because of "emergencies" . . . I hope you told the doctor how rude his front desk clerk was. She could have frowned, she could have simply not said anything other than "we'll try to work you in, we're really busy today." But that snotty "well, I guess you CAN tell time, then" was completely out of line. If I were the doctor, I would have fired her on the spot. This is not the kind of person that needs to be dealing with sick people.
I love your post! So true. I'm the type to complain, too.
Just a tad off topic, but about rude medical receptionists - I always give blood like clockwork. It's always been a pleasant experience for me wherever I have lived - until I went to a new place in Redding. The problem is, the receptionist requires me to use this electronic device to answer the questionnaire. The device doesn't work well, and I'm a little dyslexic when it comes to these types of devices and I've asked her for her help or to please fill it out for me, explaining that I'm a tad dyslexic and I find the darn thing stressful and frustrating. She always forces me to use it, to my complete and utter frustration and embarrassment, and by the time I get to the blood tech, I'm a frustrated wreck on the verge of tears.
Then they came up with a system where you could fill out the questionnaire ahead of time at home - perfect! The first time I did this, there was a different receptionist. He simply took my printed out form and asked for my signature on that darn device - easy peasy.
So, last week, I go back to give blood and get the evil receptionist who insists I verify all of my answers on the evil device, even though I've already done them at home, and printed out the paper that says I did it. I nearly lost it and pretty much let her have it and almost walked out.
In a way this would be like someone saying they can't read, but the person keeps insisting the person read it - in front of a full waiting room!
Well, guess what? I got an email the next day asking me to fill out a survey, including rating each of the persons I came in contact with. I told them I will never give blood at that facility again and she's the reason why. And I have a desirable type of blood and give double red blood cells. Yeah, she'll get in trouble. And rightly so.
Sorry to get off topic. The post about the bratty receptionist got my Irish up.
I'm one of those who tends to be early for everything, although I check into work with barely enough time to grab some coffee first.
Therefore, I'm not real tolerant of lateness unless there's a good reason for it. People attending holidays dinners at our house know to be here on time because we won't wait more than 30 minutes for a late arrival.
I could never live in a country where people have no regard for time or appointments.
cpg needs to spend some time in Latin America! And reading Oscar Wilde's aphorism: Punctuality is the thief of all time!
My Lonely Planet Guide warned me, in visiting Latin America: if you're invited to someone's house for dinner at 8, and you show up at 8, they'll never invite you back again! Best? Show up at 9!
I went to see Marisela, my favorite female pop star, at a concert in Las Vegas. Show to start at 8pm. Arrived 8pm, the place is half full! by 8:30pm, 70% had arrived. 9pm the place was packed! And? No Marisela! 9:15pm, she finally walks on stage! And the audience, up to that point, were extremely civilized, being mostly Latino's. They expect that, no apologies necessary!
Living with a Mexican roommate for 15 years, I've finally been cured of the neurosis & madness: punctuality! Now when he says he's going to Mexico to visit family, says he'll be back in 3 week, and doesn't return for 2 months, I expect that and accept that!
This morning, I got up a little early for an 8 a.m. appointment with someone who needed career advice. Mind you, he called me. I showered, got dressed, answered several e-mails, took my son to school, and made it to the coffee shop five minutes early (The coffee shop that was, by the way, four blocks from his house).
8:00 a.m. arrives, he doesn't.
8:15 a.m. comes and goes, he's not there.
8:20 a.m. passes with a quick "I'm on my way" text.
8:30 a.m. is when he finally arrived.
Mind you, this is a guy who was seeking my help. Imagine how much I want to help someone who just wasted thirty minutes of my day.
So let me clear things up for you. It's not all about you all the time. If you are most of the time, it's not because you have some unique biological tic that forces you to arrive late. It's because you are rude and thoughtless of others. It means that you are not a fully-formed adult.
The rest of the world is not anal for actually expecting you to show up at the time you agreed. The rest of the world isn't being a control freak. It's that we have busy lives, we value our time, and you apparently do not.
You are no busier than the rest of us. I run a business with a large number of clients, a host of other obligations, and a family. Nothing about your life makes you unique. Oh, sure, we all understand the outlier incident such as a huge tie-up on the interstate or a power outage. But if you are consistently late, then it means you cannot plan your life and are making everyone around you suffer. It means you are an inconsiderate friend, an inconsiderate colleague, and an inconsiderate human being.
In response to the 8:20 a.m. text saying I'm on my way - I would have text right back saying I left five minutes ago. Then get up and leave the coffee shop. Ten minutes is usually the most I wait for someone, it does depends on who it is and the circumstance, in this situation I'm not sure i would have waited ten minutes.
For me if the person is consistently late I will say to them and then after I while I will just not bother and leave. However, I think after 5 minutes is too early, 20 minutes would be more realistic.
For me if the person is consistently late I will say to them and then after I while I will just not bother and leave. However, I think after 5 minutes is too early, 20 minutes would be more realistic.
Wouldn't this be consider a "window" of time to meet - so instead lets meet between 8:00 - 8:20 - I have done this, in the past, with people that are usually late. Last time I did this to meet a friend for coffee and then picnic - she was five minutes late past the "window".
I don't know why anyone that is 30 minute late would expect that the person would still be waiting.
People that are always either early or right on time, they never wait for anyone that is late.
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