Here’s how my life works:
A few months back I made an appointment to see a doctor about a minor problem. The appointment was made for about 5 weeks later. Of course, during that time the minor medical problem disappeared but I kept the appointment anyway.
So it’s 1:45pm, 15 minutes before my appointment and I stroll into a super-crowded waiting room, get some forms from the receptionist and stand there filling them out.
Afte standing for over an hour, I ask the receptionist how much longer I’d have to wait. “As you can see, most of these people were here before you Mr. Short.” My response “well can I book another appointment? I have to be somewhere else at 3:30 and I didn’t expect to be waiting this long. My original appointment was for 2:00pm.”
“The doctor is booked until mid Feb. 06.”
Me: “Oh, well, as I said I can’t wait any longer, I have to be somewhere else at 3:30.”
As I turn to leave she adds: “Mr. Short, there’s a $50 fee if you cancel your appointment without giving us 24 hours notice.”
Me: “Excuse me? I think if you look through your appointment book, mine was for 2pm. I was here at 1:45 and have been waiting for over an hour now. I was here for my appointment, the doctor is the one who renegged.”
Her: “But you haven’t seen him yet, so if you leave now we’ll have to bill you the $50 cancellation fee.”
Me: “I won’t be paying the fee. I was here to meet with the doctor at the appointed time. It’s written right there in your schedule, and, as you can see by looking at the clock, I have been here since before 2.”
Today, I recieved a collection notice in the mail for the $50 “cancellation fee.”
February 4th, 2006 at 9:17 am
What a crock. I’d show them my ass and instruct them on how to kiss it.
February 4th, 2006 at 9:55 am
And - your new Doctor’s name is?
February 5th, 2006 at 8:21 am
what country is this ?
February 5th, 2006 at 9:53 am
Marcel, I’m in Canada.
February 6th, 2006 at 9:00 pm
Here’s what I would do.
Send the good Doctor an account for your time, loss of income, transportation etc and wait for a reaction!!!
February 7th, 2006 at 1:54 pm
That is a situation just waiting for a revolution.
I’ve almost left appointments when they’ve kept me waiting too long as well.
The way I look at it, they should be *glad* you left, because they are obviously running late… and being able to skip over your alloted time should enable them to catch up with the rest of the waiting patients.
I wonder what happens to the poor buggers who are scheduled for a 4:30 pm appointment when 5 o’clock (closing time) roles around and the doctor is still dealing with his 3:00 pm patient..?
“Absolute power corrupts absolutely”