My visit to the Doctor

Dear Dr. xxxxxxxxx-

My name is Michael Corona. I was scheduled to be a new patient of yours today, August 3^rd, 2012.  I made good on my reservation to render your services by arriving to the office twenty minutes early.  I was greeted with the normal everyday monotony of a career long receptionist.  Some stress may have been upon her shoulders as she was training a nice young lady. Although, I did not receive a smile from either of the ladies and I feel smiling is a much appreciated aspect when it comes to dealing with people.

Your office is extremely clean but it seems to be run a little awkward.  During my waiting time I watched numerous people walking from the back room (I suppose this is where you see the patients) and behind the windows of the front desk.  Not once did any of those people look towards your waiting patients and offer a smile. Nor did your staff offer me or anyone else a drink of water, a cup of coffee, a quick “hello”, and not once was I told “sorry for the wait.. etc..”

I walked out of the office after 2 hours of waiting.  I was well on my way out after one hour but my wife, through texts, urged me to stay.  I did, for an additional hour and continued to observe your office.  After another hour of waiting without the slightest attempt of interaction from your staff I decided enough was enough. My time is valuable and I had no patience to wait any longer.

As a small business owner in Hackettstown my time is extremely tight as I also work a 40 hour per week job.  I know the power of systems and scheduling and I understand what it is like to be “pressed” for time.  The problem I became aware of was that you and your office take on too many patients.  Much more than you can handle. (Either that or your systems are out of place.)  As a business owner I would never leave a patient, client, or customer of mine waiting more than 5 minutes for my attention.  That is why we have systems. If problems arose to where it was necessary for a long wait I would go the extra mile and make sure everything was ok, if water was needed, perhaps coffee, and maybe even asking if they’d like to reschedule.

I just finished reading the book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie and because I learned so much- this letter is kind hearted with the intent to help you understand problems I noticed.  I offer constructive criticism and do not intend to label your company with bad remarks.  I hope in the future you can correct the problems I noticed, as well as other patients.  I saw the distress and aggravation in their eyes and I hope this doesn’t occur to them again.

I wish you nothing but the best and I hope you have a wonderful career and family life. 

 Best of Luck,

Michael Corona
NASM CPT
Activate Fitness

P.S. Attached is my Credit Card receipt for the co-pay I paid before I even sat down.  I do not ask for a refund.  Keep it.  Use it to train your staff on how to smile or to buy a new coffee machine for the waiting room so patients can taste or smell the deliciousness of a fine brewed coffee while they wait.