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I agree in general. Being late, in a Western cultural context is just damn rude. He had me until the dentist story. I don't think that a dentist actually plans

I agree in general. Being late, in a Western cultural context is just damn rude. He had me until the dentist story. I don't think that a dentist actually plans to let patients wait, but it does happen. A dentist (mine at least) usually plans in contingency for emergencies, but it may still happen that he overshoots. Question: Would you rather have your dentist hand out his cell phone # after treating you on a Friday and their may be some complexities on the weekend for the price of waiting the occasional 20 minutes or a guaranteed punctual dentist who lets you wait for three weeks while you agonize in pain?

demallien 16y ago
It's a false dichotomy - the solution to being able to handle emergencies quickly is the same as the solution to being able to see patients on time - have some slack in your schedule. Of course, that may mean that you need to charge more for your service, but I know plenty of people that would happily pay a surcharge of 20% or so on their doctor/dentist visits if it meant that they wouldn't have to be sitting around in a waiting room for an hour. The curious thing about it is that it would only need to be about 20% to get everyone clear, but instead of that, nearly every patient ends up needing to wait for an hour, because there is always an emergency that needs addressing each day. I wonder why we don't see doctor's surgeries or dentists doing this. Anyone have an idea?
- CaptainZapp 16y ago
  Ummm "the solution to being able to handle emergencies quickly is the same as the solution to being able to see patients on time" That's exactly what I said; just with slightly different words.
scelerat 16y ago
I appreciate it when people whom I am waiting for let me know that there will be a delay and that I have not been completely forgotten. Dentists, restaurant servers, girlfriends contemplating marriage proposals, etc.

demallien 16y ago

It's a false dichotomy - the solution to being able to handle emergencies quickly is the same as the solution to being able to see patients on time - have some slack in your schedule. Of course, that may mean that you need to charge more for your service, but I know plenty of people that would happily pay a surcharge of 20% or so on their doctor/dentist visits if it meant that they wouldn't have to be sitting around in a waiting room for an hour. The curious thing about it is that it would only need to be about 20% to get everyone clear, but instead of that, nearly every patient ends up needing to wait for an hour, because there is always an emergency that needs addressing each day. I wonder why we don't see doctor's surgeries or dentists doing this. Anyone have an idea?

CaptainZapp 16y ago
Ummm "the solution to being able to handle emergencies quickly is the same as the solution to being able to see patients on time" That's exactly what I said; just with slightly different words.

scelerat 16y ago

I appreciate it when people whom I am waiting for let me know that there will be a delay and that I have not been completely forgotten. Dentists, restaurant servers, girlfriends contemplating marriage proposals, etc.