An Angry Rant

Okay, I am really upset, and I am in a quandary. The lack of customer appreciation, communication, and service in even small companies these days is utterly bewildering and appalling to me. And this week’s experience is just another example of how bad — and how stupid — things can get.

I love my eye-doctor. He’s a really great guy, has an office convenient for me, doesn’t over-charge, is pleasant, and doesn’t patronize me. I like the way he explains things without making me feel stupid or condescended to. I also like the way he doesn’t over-prescribe for my eyes … in fact, since I’ve been seeing him, my prescription is not as strong as it used to be — a good thing when you are dealing with vision correction.

It’s a small office, with almost everything run by hand — by hand, mind you. Not by computer. There are only three other people on staff besides the doctor. Sadly, I cannot stand most of his staff — they are surly and unfriendly, and they treat me discourteously. Nothing makes me madder, as a customer, than to be treated like I am a nuisance, an annoyance, or an intrusion. I don’t like to “pull rank,” but I do think people should remember that without the customer, they don’t get a paycheck.

The latest incident has made me so angry that I may change eye-doctors over it. Because it should never have happened.

I last saw my eye-doctor in October 2008. I paid my regular insurance co-pay at that time, even though I told the front desk attendant that my insurance did not cover vision and that she would need to send me a bill. She said to just go ahead and pay the co-pay, and they would get it all straight after submitting the charges.

It has been a whole year since that visit, and I have heard nothing from them. Nothing. And so, quite naturally, I had completely forgotten about it. Until I was going through the mail on my return from vacation.  That was on October 12.

It took me several days to get someone on the phone at the office to ask what this random-seeming bill was. When the billing clerk explained to me that it was the unpaid balance from the October 2008 visit, I was incredulous. It takes you a year to remember to bill someone? I told her that I was surprised that I had not heard anything from them before this. But I agreed to send them a check for the balance. (I do owe them, after all, even if they are ridiculously slow in billing.)

Now, I budget my money at the beginning of the month. And as I am presently paying down a fairly large amount of debt, I budget to the penny. So there was no way for me to just sit down and write them a check that day. So I was honest with the clerk.

I told  her that I would work the debt into my November budget and send them a check. Which was done. My first payday in November was the fifth; I handle all bills on the Friday night after payday, so the check was mailed on November seventh.

You can imagine, then, my outrage on November ninth, when I received a really nasty “Delinquency Notice” in the mail. The notice stated that all efforts to contact me had failed and that unless the bill was paid within ten days of the date of the notice, legal action would be taken. It also stated that the debt was due on 9 October 2008.

I was on the phone immediately, of course. And, of course, the billing clerk was out that day. And the next. I left a message. (The poor receptionist. I simply could not control my voice, so it was quite obvious that I was furious, though I did assure her that I did not blame her. And I was as polite as possible — certainly I didn’t swear at her or make threats.) I have still not heard back from the billing clerk.

What makes me angry is the lack of respect for me as a client. They have every possible phone number for me, including that of my mother. And both mom and I have Caller ID and answering machines. Had they been trying to phone me, they would have gotten me or could have left me a message. I make a special trip home to get my mail out of my mailbox within an hour after it is delivered, every day. If they had mailed me bills, I would have seen one before this. 

As soon as I knew of the bill, I called them. I told them exactly what I would do about paying the bill. If they had not received the payment when I said they would, they should have called. They certainly should not have sent me a nasty letter stating that they had been unable to contact me and that the bill was due a year ago.

The “mean girl” part of me wants to tell them what to do with their year-old bill. Or pay them a dollar a week for the next year. Or find some other way to inconvenience them. The Christian part of me says to just pay the bill and let it go. And that is what I will do, because it is the right thing. Even though it will cost me $20 to stop payment on the old check and issue them a new one.

But at the same time, I am wondering if I should write to my eye doctor and tell him what has happened, and how close he is to losing me as a patient becuase of the attitudes and behaviours of his employees. Do employers want to be told that their employees are angering their clients? Should a businessman be told that his office practises are outdated and are costing him both money and the good-will of his clients? Or should I just shut up and swallow my outrage?

Such a quandary.

Tags: challenges, character, customer service, Family Life, honesty, integrity, rant, respect, True Stories