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I have to get some follow up blood work done, so I headed down to the lab yesterday morning with my paperwork and a desire to get it over with as quickly and smoothly as possible. Of course, that didn't happen. Obviously.
It's the same lab I've gone to for years. They're usually quick, very neat and clean, and, since moving to a new building, have a comfy waiting room. I didn't schedule an appointment because I've never had to wait more than 20 minutes before, and I wasn't sure exactly what time I could make it in (mornings, for my bunch, are a triumph of will over desire). Yeah, that turned out to be a mistake.
I walk in and the waiting area is packed. Why is taking someone to the lab a family event? I can understand if the person is sick or elderly or doesn't drive, but when the person is apparently none of those things, and accompanied by multiple companions, is it just the entertainment value? Are they that bored?
Anyway, there's a packed lobby and a waitlist a page long. And then it begins.
One guy, who is hyper, decides to listen to his CD player. Yes, an actual portable CD player. Either he's completely deaf or his headphones are bad and cheap, because we can hear everything. I thought about telling him, but he was acting hyper and weird and it wasn't worth it.
There is no receptionist. You come in, sign the waitlist, note if you have an appointment, and when a tech finishes with a patient, they check the list and take the next person, people with appointments having first call. People would walk up to a sign a few feet back from the desk that said to wait until the previous person was done, and then just stood there, whether someone was at the desk or not. I told at least three people that they needed to sign in and then they could sit.
There's also a sign with instructions for people who are just dropping off samples, which, of course, none of them read, so that tied up the techs.
The topper was when I found out why it was taking so long. The company had rolled out a new computer system, and decided to save money (my assumption) by not having the database from the old system transferred to the new system. The techs were having to reenter information on everyone that came in, creating a whole new patient profile. Now, I could understand it if the company had decided to not transfer patient info that was not current. And transferring databases from one system to another can be expensive and a pain. But this just screams of someone saying, "Hey, guys, we could save a chunk of change if we just skip moving the database over. Now, let's go have lobster, steak and some good wine while we figure out how big our bonuses will be their year, and congratulate ourselves for being so smart."
Close behind was the fact that they had run out of butterflies, so they had to use a straight needle in my hand, because their deliveries were overdue by weeks.
So, I ended up waiting almost an hour and a half, sitting next to a woman who was sick and huddling under a blanket, because of some ass in corporate. This is why we all hate corporate.
It's the same lab I've gone to for years. They're usually quick, very neat and clean, and, since moving to a new building, have a comfy waiting room. I didn't schedule an appointment because I've never had to wait more than 20 minutes before, and I wasn't sure exactly what time I could make it in (mornings, for my bunch, are a triumph of will over desire). Yeah, that turned out to be a mistake.
I walk in and the waiting area is packed. Why is taking someone to the lab a family event? I can understand if the person is sick or elderly or doesn't drive, but when the person is apparently none of those things, and accompanied by multiple companions, is it just the entertainment value? Are they that bored?
Anyway, there's a packed lobby and a waitlist a page long. And then it begins.
One guy, who is hyper, decides to listen to his CD player. Yes, an actual portable CD player. Either he's completely deaf or his headphones are bad and cheap, because we can hear everything. I thought about telling him, but he was acting hyper and weird and it wasn't worth it.
There is no receptionist. You come in, sign the waitlist, note if you have an appointment, and when a tech finishes with a patient, they check the list and take the next person, people with appointments having first call. People would walk up to a sign a few feet back from the desk that said to wait until the previous person was done, and then just stood there, whether someone was at the desk or not. I told at least three people that they needed to sign in and then they could sit.
There's also a sign with instructions for people who are just dropping off samples, which, of course, none of them read, so that tied up the techs.
The topper was when I found out why it was taking so long. The company had rolled out a new computer system, and decided to save money (my assumption) by not having the database from the old system transferred to the new system. The techs were having to reenter information on everyone that came in, creating a whole new patient profile. Now, I could understand it if the company had decided to not transfer patient info that was not current. And transferring databases from one system to another can be expensive and a pain. But this just screams of someone saying, "Hey, guys, we could save a chunk of change if we just skip moving the database over. Now, let's go have lobster, steak and some good wine while we figure out how big our bonuses will be their year, and congratulate ourselves for being so smart."
Close behind was the fact that they had run out of butterflies, so they had to use a straight needle in my hand, because their deliveries were overdue by weeks.
So, I ended up waiting almost an hour and a half, sitting next to a woman who was sick and huddling under a blanket, because of some ass in corporate. This is why we all hate corporate.
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