# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 16, 2024, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636 "2024-02-16T02:56:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 356
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7102 "2025-06-11T04:49:15Z")
OMG, that thread. I am righteously schooled. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7103 "2025-06-11T20:38:12Z")
I just bring a book to the doctors office. Then it doesnt really matter- i just assume that the Doctor is doing something more important. Mind you, after 30 minutes i do start to wonder. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7104 "2025-06-11T21:49:35Z")
Probably somewhere between 15 and 30 minutes. I’ve gone to a lot of doctor’s appointments lately and I can’t complain about how long I’ve had to wait. 15 minutes would be very unusual. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7105 "2025-06-11T21:57:08Z")
I always set my appointments at 8AM, first of the day for my doctor, so after about 15 minutes I would start wondering. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7106 "2025-06-11T22:08:28Z")
My pcp spend much more time with me than he’s “supposed to”, so i don’t begrudge that he always runs late. My dentist is usually on time, but once, when i had the first appointment of the day, she was really late. She got stuck in traffic or something. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7107 "2025-06-11T22:23:24Z")
I don’t mind waiting as long as it takes. Waiting for more than a quarter hour without any commuication is mildly annoying, though. I changed doctors once after having the doctor show up more than an hour late for a first-thing-upon-opening appointment,\* and having my own appointment cancelled when I showed up five minutes late. - I saw him arrive and take off his overcoat after I had already been waiting and waiting. A word of apology would have gone a long way! ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7108 "2025-06-11T22:44:11Z")
When I was in cancer treatment, all my appointments ran over. Now I’m not, and I’m happy to know other people are getting the care they need. I don’t book anything for a block of time after my scheduled appointment. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7109 "2025-06-11T23:36:30Z")
I’ve been on both sides of the clinic waiting game, so I know the caregivers want to move things along just as much as the patients do. That said, if I’m kept waiting as a patient, I’d better see a head poking in the door with some sort of acknowledgement every so often. mmm ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7110 "2025-06-11T23:45:54Z")
I am annoyed at the fact that they now take you in to small stuffy windowless rooms and expect you to wait there, instead of in a waiting room which is at least somewhat designed for the purpose. It doesn’t take 15 minutes for me to get annoyed by this; it takes maybe 5. I am however aware that this now seems to be standard procedure, so I try not to show my annoyance. I’m probably not going to stick my head out for half an hour, though if the room’s really claustrophobic I may open the door sooner. Didn’t vote. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7111 "2025-06-12T00:49:06Z")
I’m happy when they take me to wait in an exam room. When I’m in the exam room, I’m using a space that is valuable to THEM. However long I sit in the exam room is time that they are not using to see at least one other patient, and it’s essentially costing them money. There is no such incentive to move me along if I’m in the waiting area. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7112 "2025-06-12T01:01:15Z")
I’m also happy, because I’m no longer sitting in a room with the person who is coughing, and the loud TV. The exam room has a chair and a window and privacy, and is just a nicer place to wait. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7113 "2025-06-12T01:59:56Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > a window Fancy! ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7114 "2025-06-12T02:12:31Z")
It’s in a grubby old building that’s too old to have vast interior spaces. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7115 "2025-06-12T02:42:28Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > exam room has a chair and a window and privacy, and is just a nicer You get rooms with windows? I never seem to. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7116 "2025-06-12T02:46:42Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > However long I sit in the exam room is time that they are not using to see at least one other patient, They’ve got multiple exam rooms. The one doctor is seeing other patients, that’s why it takes them so long to get to you. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7117 "2025-06-12T03:03:52Z")
Actually, must if the exam rooms have windows, but i don’t think the waiting room does. And it is crowded (it serves several doctors) and the paid TV is hugely annoying. It’s always a relief to go off to the exam room. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7118 "2025-06-12T03:07:24Z")
Our waiting room and leeching room both have room-length window views of a Major Football Stadium™. The personal inspection rooms, however, are all interior. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7119 "2025-06-12T08:28:23Z")
What are “gripper socks”, and are they grippier than bare feet? Than shoes or slippers with moderately grippy soles? I do visit one home where they ask everyone to remove their shoes, but the floors (including the staircase) are slick hardwood. I decided i didn’t feel safe just walking in my stocking feet, so I’ve taken to removing my socks, too. But my bare feet are very grippy and while i prefer more arch support, i have stopped worrying I’ll slip on the stairs. ---
**Author:** ![Jegpeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jegpeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jegpeg)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7120 "2025-06-12T08:42:59Z")
I virtually always wear something more substantial over my socks, but it is for protection against stepping on something rather than slipping. At home, or visiting family overnight I wear usually wear slippers but will sometimes leave my outdoor shoes on, when visitiing it is rare to be expected to take shoes off. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7121 "2025-06-12T09:30:42Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > What are “gripper socks”, and are they grippier than bare feet? They are socks with rubber dots on the bottom. Bare feet are probably grippier but I hate to go barefoot so I’ve always worn socks in the house. I have hardwood floors. Last week I slipped but didn’t fall and decided it was time to get some. I got [these](https://www.target.com/p/anna-kaci-active-women-s-non-slip-ballet-grip-socks-with-crisscross-elastic-straps---one-size-fits-most--mauve/-/A-1002741881) yesterday. They are cute and comfortable. I plan to get something more substantial for winter. You can’t be too careful. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636.md?page=355) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636.md?page=357)