I'm a customer service snob. I admit this fully and without reservation. I have over 30+ years in various customer service roles, have written about it, it’s kind of a thing with me. I also firmly believe that when you work for a company, you represent that company.

This goes for healthcare as well.

Now let me say first, I know how incredibly hard the last year and a half has been on healthcare workers. I have friends and family in the field and I have the upmost respect for the work they do. I've also been a front desk person for a doctor and know what it's like to deal with patients. It's not always easy and we all have bad days. However, there is also a right way and a wrong way to treat people.

My back story: for the last 5 1/2 years due to serious illness, I've been to countless doctors, specialists, testing centers, ERs and urgent care facilities trying to get a definitive diagnosis and treatment for my situation. I am extremely well versed in our health system here. Last year, I finally found a new neurologist and she and I decided to start over with a new team of doctors with fresh eyes. So referrals happened, new tests ordered and we were all set to go.

Unfortunately and understandably, Covid made making appointments impossible. I also had a medical emergency complete with surgery and the long recovery time pushed things back even further. When May arrived, we thought we'd be able to get things started when I suffered a major setback. Basically, I lost the month and ended up back in bed.

I was finally able to get an appointment with one of the (highly) recommended specialists and had been so anxious about going, I never got to sleep the night before. I was so afraid that after all these months, I was going to forget something and who knew when I'd be able to get another appointment? So I stayed up making lists of things to discuss with her.

When I walked into the office to check in, I was shaking from a mixture of adrenaline, tiredness and the fact that I was in excruciating pain. The car ride was a nightmare and I have trouble walking these days; basically, it took every ounce of energy to get to this appointment.

So imagine my surprise when the woman at the desk says to me, "you cancelled this two days ago."

When I objected, she said, "it says right here, patient cancelled." (Wearing a mask was a good thing at this point because of the faces I was making and words mouthed underneath it.)

Please note: this doctor has two locations and I’ve never dealt with any of her people before this. Also, they do her scheduling in another office in another town. This woman was very kind, gave me the card for the other office and I immediately went outside to call.

A woman answered the phone, I explained my situation and she too came out with, "you cancelled." I said, “if I cancelled then why am I here?" 

She became extremely rude and in a mocking tone had the audacity to say to me, "Why would you cancel if you needed to see her so badly? You need to talk to Mary."

When I asked who Mary was, she snapped, "the office manager!"

I asked how I would know that and she proceeded to yell at me. After this happened, I proceeded to demand she get me in there now. I was put on hold.

I was on hold for 15 minutes. 

I finally hung up, (yes, I should have done this sooner but I was in shock this was happening) and called back. Another woman picked up who thankfully, was much nicer than the rude one I had been talking to earlier. 

She let me know that they were trying to figure out what happened. I stressed to her that "it would have been nice if someone had let me know that instead of keeping me on hold for so long and that I was disabled and in pain and I needed to see the doctor and what the hell was going on"...all in one breath.

She was calmly trying to relay messages back and forth to me about what was going on. Finally, she came back with, "we need you to come back another time" and scheduled me for an appointment over a week away.

Defeated I took the appointment and thanked her.

About 10 seconds later, my phone rang and it was this Mary person asking why I had called. When I said, "you called me” she came back with “oh right.” She then said she understood that I had cancelled the appointment and then asked what the issue was. I started crying on the phone and told her some of what happened. Figuring that she was the office manager, I’d  try again. I told her no one called to confirm my appointment as was the protocol for this health system, yet I was told they did and I cancelled. I made sure she knew I had the phone log and that there was nothing from any of their numbers on it, that I’ve been in bed for weeks with my phone next to me and again, no call.  

“But you cancelled, why are you at the office?” Once again, it was a dead end and I was being blamed. I asked her outright how they could treat someone like this. "Oh yeah, sorry. Well you have your new appointment now so we'll see you next week." She hung up.

At that moment, suddenly all the tired, all the pain and the inevitable adrenaline crash hit me and the uncontrollable crying began. There I was, sitting in the parking lot of the doctor's office crying like a baby so close to this doctor and yet so far. And then...the anger hit me.

I had (and still have) a rage in me I hadn't felt in some time. I am a patient in dire need of care; I am a patient who follows all the rules; and I am a patient who was made to feel that it was her fault and talked down to by not one, but two people.

I have no doubt, the doctor herself has NO idea this all took place. But because it did, I went home that day questioning how good she is. Despite three referrals from other physicians, I still spent the evening googling reviews and patient testimonials. After all, how good could she be if her staff treats her patients so horribly, right? She was greatly misrepresented and unfortunately, I still have to deal with these people when I go back for my newly scheduled appointment. An appointment that now has me even more anxious than this last one because who knows what will happen next?

The main issue here though is that these women blamed me. Even when I didn't do anything, even when it was their error and even when they heard how upset I was...they continued to blame me.

Of all the customer service roles I've held, my time working for a doctor was where I showed true compassion for those walking in that door. After all, that's certainly not where they wanted to be at that moment! They were there because they needed help. They were reaching out for it and we were there to give it to them. As was I, just a few days ago.

I will definitely be sharing my experience with the doctor when I finally get in there as I believe she has a right to know who does and doesn't have her back on her own staff and hopefully she can help me with my medical situation.

However, the point is, because of the actions of these women, I questioned the doctor. I questioned her fitness to work with me and her competency as a physician. Unfair to her of course, but this was how she was represented by those who work for her.

Just as you would question a restaurant if you were greeted at the door with a rude hostess who refused to seat you, first impressions are everything! To me, customer service is customer service no matter what the organization is you are working for. If this were any other situation, (like a restaurant or store) I wouldn’t return and I’d be telling many others to steer clear of this place. Unfortunately I’m stuck and have to continue trying to get my foot in the door to see this woman. Will my opinions change when I get on there? We’ll see. But as of now, I’ll be going in with a one star review in my head and tissues in hand...just in case.

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If you’ve made it this far, I thank you for reading and (in this rare case here) letting me vent a bit. If you’d like to come see my other pieces here on Publish0x: https://www.publish0x.com/@CC1370

I assure you I have a nice variety from poetry to business and beyond! 🙂

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Note: Names have been changed in this piece to protect identities.