Oh, You Did NOT Just Say That!

[Jay 2K Winger]

lol. Just by sheer coincidence I ran across this yesterday. You're obviously not alone Misty.
Love the parenthetical add-on at the end.

Now that is both sad and brilliant at the same time.

[EricKei]

MoonCat - true, but the FAX was just the icing on the cake. SC is still SC

[sms001]

lol. Just by sheer coincidence I ran across this yesterday. You're obviously not alone Misty.
Love the parenthetical add-on at the end.

[camjuniper]

Angie should absolutely have called to make sure it had been received.

This, totally. When I need important paperwork, I follow up on it.

Plus, things come up, mistakes happen, folks forget. It happens. She needs to accept and move on, not throw a snit fit. And maybe plan ahead next time.

I see no fault with you being straight up with her about that.

[georgie]

wow

if i treated any of the staff at my doctors like that Im sure i'd be booted as a patient

[MoonCat]

re: your brains the FAX...If the paperwork was important, why didn't she hang around the fax for the next 60 seconds so that she would be able to tell if it went through or not? Every FAX I've ever used either produces a hard-to-miss error code/tone when that happens (and, if the speaker is on, the distinct LACK of the dialup screeches), and many also print out an error page as well.

I'd say that it's time to drop the "speshul snowflake treatment as well. Definitely be as saccharine as you gotta be when she comes in, but I'd say just "forget" to give her an appointment with no/few other patients nearby. Let her come in at prime time ^_^

Generally that's true, but with some machines, it could have been received and be stuck in the machine's memory, yet nothing comes out. We've had that happen at work. Sometimes it's just a paper jam, sometimes it's more complicated, but essentially it's receiving faxes, it's just not printing them. That said, Angie should absolutely have called to make sure it had been received.

[raudf]

Drat you EricKei! I'd just gotten Creepy Doll out of my head and now that one invades!

An appointment where she's the only patient? "I'm sorry, these are our hours and all patients are welcome to schedule appointments during those hours." You can't help it if the fax machine went down and while you could have called her... The onus is on her, because she could have called an hour after sending the fax to make sure you'd gotten it. Most people would have, because what they sent is important and fax machines love eating important things!

[starsinthesky]

That's right Eric. Well golly, it looks like a bunch of people just make appointments around the same time.

[EricKei]

re: your brains the FAX...If the paperwork was important, why didn't she hang around the fax for the next 60 seconds so that she would be able to tell if it went through or not? Every FAX I've ever used either produces a hard-to-miss error code/tone when that happens (and, if the speaker is on, the distinct LACK of the dialup screeches), and many also print out an error page as well.

I'd say that it's time to drop the "speshul snowflake treatment as well. Definitely be as saccharine as you gotta be when she comes in, but I'd say just "forget" to give her an appointment with no/few other patients nearby. Let her come in at prime time ^_^

[sms001]

Given the /bg, I'm kinda surprised there aren't more Angies popping up. I know all of us who have worked the front lines anywhere dread the "former employee" customer who knows everything about the business, everything about your job specifically, and think they are front-of-the-line material no matter what the circumstances. Bummer that you dropped the ball and gave her ammunition for her attitude, but a sincere apology should have ended it. (And if paperwork is that important, who doesn't place a follow-up call to make sure their document was received?) Good luck in your next encounter!

[barainga]

How much you want to bet she waited till nearly the last possible minute to even try to fax the paperwork in?

[Pixilated]

It sounds to me as if both you and the doctor have had to put up with a lot from Angie, so I'm not sure 'blameless' is an issue on your part. Her being on WC does nothing to excuse her from common courtesy and not behaving like an SC.

I think your plan for her next visit is fine. I also agree there comes a point where an SC has to be told, in no uncertain terms, that they are not the centre of the universe.

[Misty]

I work the front desk of a doctor's office. It's a small private practice in a fairly small town that has been in business for 33 years. Dr. B is a great doctor and a great guy, and many of his patients have been seeing him for years; some of them even used to work for him, like the antagonist of this story, Angie.

Angie worked for the doctor 30 years ago when she was a teenager, and has been a patient of his off and on ever since. In the last three years she's had a run of bad luck. Her husband has a list of medical problems as long as my arm, including complications from a couple of botched surgeries. He is in constant pain and cannot get around without a walker. He has the body of a 90 year old man, and he's only 42 years old. She's his primary caregiver, and she has her own medical problems to deal with on top of that. They are both on Worker's Comp.

Angie believes her history with Dr. B gives her special privileges. When she calls for an appointment, she insists that it be during a time when there are no other patients so that she can have the doctor's undivided attention, yet half the time she doesn't show up and doesn't call to cancel. She criticizes the way we run the office like she could do it better (as if nothing has changed over the last 30 years). Any paperwork she needs from us, she needs RIGHT NOW, as in we must make it our top priority.

But enough backstory. On to the part where the title of the thread comes in...

Angie called me and told me that she was faxing over some papers for the doctor to sign, and could I please fax them back right away? I said OK. Later I realized that the fax wasn't working and nothing I did could get it going. I intended to call her but I forgot.

The next day she called and asked about the fax.

Her: Hi, did you get my fax?

Me: No, sorry, the fax machine isn't working.

Her (freaking out a little): WHAT?? Why didn't you call me??

Me (irritated): I'm sorry, but we were really busy yesterday. I had a lot to do and I forgot.

Her (huffy): Well, I would have appreciated a phone call.

Me (getting kinda snotty): I'm sorry, but I was really busy! You're not our only patient, you know!

Her (huffy): I don't appreciate your attitude. Remember, you work for us!

Oh, you did NOT just say that!

Me (pissed off): I do not work for you, Angie! Let's get that straight right now!

Her (huffy): You wouldn't have a job if it wasn't for patients!

At this point I just bit my tongue. Angie and her husband are on Worker's Comp, so she's not paying anything out of pocket; for all the demands she has made on Dr. B's time, he has yet to receive a dime. However, instead of pointing this out, I let her rant a little more before saying "whatever, goodbye," and hanging up.

I told Dr. B what happened and he said don't worry about it, because as much as he likes her, she's starting to wear him down. Case in point: she sent him a looong text on his mobile (lots of his longtime patients have his private number) about how she didn't like my attitude and that she realized she wasn't his only patient and she would make sure he gets paid.

So, while Angie has given him the proper acknowledgment, she has given me the cold shoulder. Later that day she walked into the office long enough to throw an envelope on my counter, say "make sure he gets this," and walk out.

I realize that I am not blameless here. I sympathize with her and don't pretend to know what she is going through, but she needs to understand that we are running a business, and it does not revolve around her. We cannot let her make her problems our problems. That said, the next time I talk to her I'll be nothing but nice...unless she gives me any shit, at which point the gloves are coming off.