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In the case of a dentist making you wait it actually makes sense and is to be expected. Some patients take a lot longer, or someone might have an unexpected iss

In the case of a dentist making you wait it actually makes sense and is to be expected. Some patients take a lot longer, or someone might have an unexpected issue come up during a root canal or whatever. What's the dentist supposed to do? Just leave the other patient to make time with you? You just aren't paying enough to justify the cost of making you not wait. Same is the case if a bank makes you wait a long time on automated machine before they take a call. You just aren't important enough. If you're a billionaire, pay your dentist for a whole day. Get a private banker. If not, get in line, you aren't important enough.

ceejayoz 11y ago
> In the case of a dentist making you wait it actually makes sense and is to be expected. Occasionally, perhaps, but if it's a regular occurrence, they need to schedule better. My wife's usually the first appointment of the day with one of her specialists and they're very regularly 30+ minutes late. No earlier patients to use as an excuse, and they have a hypocritical "7 minutes late = reschedule" policy for patients.
roel_v 11y ago
Some dentists are always on time +/- 10 minutes, and some are always late. No, this is not the nature of the dentistry business - it's poor planning, and not caring enough to change it.
- meesterdude 11y ago
  I'm sure you have all the facts available to you when making such an assessment of dentists. However, I would argue that the world is not black & white; and what you perceive and what is factual are not always one in the same. Which isn't to say that there aren't going to be lazy dentists out there, of course.
- bryanlarsen 11y ago
  If a dentist office always runs on time, that means that quite regularly they're sitting around doing nothing. The no-show rate for a typical office is around 10%. Like any scheduling problem, the amount of slack in the schedule is crucial. Most schedules work a lot better with a little bit of slack, but a lot of people see slack as a horrible inefficiency that must be excised at all costs.
  - jrs235 11y ago
    Slack is crucial for all businesses. Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency by Tom DeMarco is a great read. http://amzn.to/1KGF8DG http://amzn.to/1KGF8DG (affiliate link)

ceejayoz 11y ago

> In the case of a dentist making you wait it actually makes sense and is to be expected. Occasionally, perhaps, but if it's a regular occurrence, they need to schedule better. My wife's usually the first appointment of the day with one of her specialists and they're very regularly 30+ minutes late. No earlier patients to use as an excuse, and they have a hypocritical "7 minutes late = reschedule" policy for patients.

roel_v 11y ago

Some dentists are always on time +/- 10 minutes, and some are always late. No, this is not the nature of the dentistry business - it's poor planning, and not caring enough to change it.

meesterdude 11y ago
I'm sure you have all the facts available to you when making such an assessment of dentists. However, I would argue that the world is not black & white; and what you perceive and what is factual are not always one in the same. Which isn't to say that there aren't going to be lazy dentists out there, of course.
bryanlarsen 11y ago
If a dentist office always runs on time, that means that quite regularly they're sitting around doing nothing. The no-show rate for a typical office is around 10%. Like any scheduling problem, the amount of slack in the schedule is crucial. Most schedules work a lot better with a little bit of slack, but a lot of people see slack as a horrible inefficiency that must be excised at all costs.
- jrs235 11y ago
  Slack is crucial for all businesses. Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency by Tom DeMarco is a great read. http://amzn.to/1KGF8DG http://amzn.to/1KGF8DG (affiliate link)