Don't Be Late, You
I go to a dentist that is very much in touch with newer technology. I get reminders about my upcoming appointments by phone call, SMS text message, and email. Personally, I don't mind this, because I opted in to have these alerts send to me, and it's convenient for me because I don't have to worry about forgetting when I have an appointment.
All of the reminders I get say the same thing: "Don't be late." They ask me to arrive five minutes early if possible, but if nothing else, ask that I show up on time. The only problem I have with this is that the last four out of five times I've visited this particular dentist, I've ended up waiting between five and fifteen minutes past my appointment time, just sitting in the waiting room. (And they have the same lame magazines as every other dentist, so now I bring a book.)
Now, I'm a reasonable person, and my employer doesn't care if my lunch hour runs over by twenty minutes every now and then. And I'd be the first person to concede that my doctor's time really is more valuable than my own. He's a doctor, for God's sake, he suffered through medical school and has to deal with grumpy patients whining about their teeth all day. Can't we cut him some slack?
Sure, and I do. But lots of his other patients may not. How many of them hate being asked to show up on time, only to be left waiting for fifteen minutes when they do? Seems to me that asking people for something, but not taking the trouble to return the favor, is just going to annoy people.
All of the reminders I get say the same thing: "Don't be late." They ask me to arrive five minutes early if possible, but if nothing else, ask that I show up on time. The only problem I have with this is that the last four out of five times I've visited this particular dentist, I've ended up waiting between five and fifteen minutes past my appointment time, just sitting in the waiting room. (And they have the same lame magazines as every other dentist, so now I bring a book.)
Now, I'm a reasonable person, and my employer doesn't care if my lunch hour runs over by twenty minutes every now and then. And I'd be the first person to concede that my doctor's time really is more valuable than my own. He's a doctor, for God's sake, he suffered through medical school and has to deal with grumpy patients whining about their teeth all day. Can't we cut him some slack?
Sure, and I do. But lots of his other patients may not. How many of them hate being asked to show up on time, only to be left waiting for fifteen minutes when they do? Seems to me that asking people for something, but not taking the trouble to return the favor, is just going to annoy people.