If you work an 8-5, 9-5, 9-6, etc day M-F, how do people who do that manage to keep appointments (going to the post office, getting a haircut, seeing a doctor, visiting a mechanic, etc) and get things done?
Some companies and services like grocery stores, gas stations, drug stores, etc. are open 24/7 so a person can always go there on nights and weekends.
But how do people who work business hours manage to keep appointments considering that many businesses are closed during non-business hours? Are enough companies flexible enough so that it isn’t a problem, or is it a problem to the point that people generally have to take time off of work in order to keep appointments?
Haircut, Post Office, mechanic: evenings and weekends. Or if it’s mailing something rather than picking up, I can run to the post office near work at lunchtime or right after work (they are open until 6 pm).
Doctor/dentist: for routine things, I try to schedule them whenever possible for random Federal holidays when my doctor is open anyway (my physical was on MLK Day this year, for example). Otherwise, I have to use sick or vacation time. I used to be able to just make up missed time the same week, but then the office manager started being a PITA about that.
I take a day or half day off when I have business-hour appointments. Nothing else works reliably for things like doctor appointments. Quick things, like gettng a document notarized, can be worked into a lunch hour.
This is a big issue for those who are trying to get off welfare, too. Department of Human Services, who oversees welfare benefits of all kinds requires office hours appointments to verify that you are working, following your employment plan, etc. This requires taking time off from work to make the appointments. This pisses your employer off, and he fires you. Lather, rinse, repeat.
My primary doctor and dentist have evening and Saturday appointments and so does my hairstylist. I always use mechanics where I can drop off/pick up the car after work ( the service dept where I bought my newer car is open until midnight). Post office is open Saturdays. If there’s something I must take care of during work hours, I take leave time.
Post office is right across the street from my office. I only rarely send off packages, and I usually buy a bunch of stamps at one time so I don’t have to stand in the long line every time I need one.
I get a bank of leave that I can use for doctor’s appointments. Sick leave can be used for anything medical. If I have another kind of appointment, I can use family/personal leave. When that runs out, then I can use annual leave–which is generally what I would use for vacations.
People who are not fortunate enough to have an allotment of time off do struggle to make appointments. But a lot of times they also do not work M-F jobs, but rather have days off that fall within the work week. The thing is that those days off are subject to change from one week to the next.
Weekends mostly. If it’s a doctor/dental appointment, I’ll take the earliest slot they have - many surgeries in my area open at 8am. Sometimes it might mean being half and hour late to work. Post Office/bank stuff can all be done in my lunch hour.
It’s hard to imagine how this works if your time is your own -when I’ve been off work I can spend whole days running chores. But it’s amazing what you can pack into your time when you have to work 9-6.
I’m still working on adjusting to day shift after working 3pm-11:30pm for several years. I used to have all day to get errands done and it was great! Now I need to find places that are open a little later, or do things on the weekend if I can. So far I’ve been able to do all my shopping, post office, and vet stuff after work, because they’re open later. I have a couple of medical appointments coming up and my employer is ok with me leaving an hour or two early here and there for that sort of thing, making up the time if I can, and taking vacation hours if I can’t. The hardest one is my therapist’s office, which is only open from 9-4 on weekdays. I work 8-4:30, an hour away from that office. For now I’ve booked a 9am appointment and I’ll see how late I get to work, and if it’s really bad I’ll try taking the day’s latest appointment instead.
A lot of service providers do have late evenings or early mornings specifically to accommodate the schedules of working people. It’s getting easier, in my experience.
Lunchtime and half days. I normally take a half hour lunch, if I need to run an errand I take what time I need and either make it up at the end of the day or take vacation time. The bank I can do after work.
It’s a bitch trying to run errands, I gotta say. I hate slogging out of my office to the car, giving up a good parking space (if I got one that day), driving to the damn Post Office, standing in line, coming back and having to park in Timbuktu and then not getting to leave on time (I avoid using my vacation time). I remember when Wal Mart sold stamps and now they don’t because they suck like that.
I have to go to the Post Office today, actually; can you tell? :mad:
Flexible hours: I can come later, leave earlier or extend my lunch hour and make it up on another day
Post office is open on Sat. morning and in the evening till 6pm. Also, automated machines like Packstation.
Doctors often offer one day in the week where they are open till 6 or 7 pm.
If nothing else is available, my employer is required to give me time off for doctors appointments, but I’m required to try a different time first.
My official bureau for city stuff (Bürgerbüro) opens at 7:30 on some days and stays open late till 7 pm on the Tuesday. A lot of things can be done by internet, too.
Take a day off as last resort, or use extra hours for half a day.
Those of you needing to visit the post office for stamps - don’t places like Walgreens still sell stamps? It’s been a while since I checked, but they used to. I bought a huge package of “forever” stamps at Costco last year and haven’t even gone through a third of those yet. And you can also order stamps by mail through the post office website - there’s a charge for delivery and it takes about a week, but if you need overseas stamps or something special, it’s a good option.
I found a little post office hidden in a convenience store right by work, so when I had a package to mail, I stopped on my way home. Much quicker than an official post office, plus I picked up a Dr Pepper for the drive home.
I work 7-3:30, so I do have time at the end of the day. But for the most part, my hours are very flexible. I can take an hour here or there with no problem.
For Doctors and Dentist apointments, I am allowed to take sick time. I have about 800 hours of that saved up so it’s not an issue either.
On occasion, I’ve run into a business that closes at 5 and there are no other alternatives. Example: I was on a waiting list at the local nursery for a specific kind of tree I wanted. They called me (after two years!) to tell me it had come in and did I still want it? They only had 3-4, so I had to commit and get over there to pick it up that day (couldn’t wait until Saturday because of the waiting list – someone else would have gotten my tree). I had to leave work early, but my employer was okay with me making up the missed time. I’ve been known to exchange my lunch hour to use that hour for running errands.
I’ve also been known to berate small business owners who are only open from 9-5. Exactly who is your target market? SAHMs and retired folks? Has it occurred to you that you might actually make* more* money if you were open during hours when most people aren’t working? No? Well, good luck with that business model.
My veterinarian’s office is open from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. This represents far more open hours than many veterinarian offices, which I greatly appreciate. While most companies are okay with employees using sick time for their own or their children’s medical appointments, they don’t look too kindly on using sick time for your dog’s medical appointments. This is where those early morning/late afternoon/Saturday hours really come in handy. In fact, when I had to put my dog down last year, I showed up at the vet’s office just a few minutes before closing and we whacked my dog after hours. They would be there anyway to tend to the animals in the kennels, so it wasn’t a big deal to stick me and my dog in an empty room for a while so I could say my goodbyes and get my last face licks in, completely undisturbed by the usual hustle and bustle of a busy animal clinic. Note: While they did not rush me in any way at all (kept encouraging me to take my time), I doubt if they would have been willing to hang around for three hours if I couldn’t bring myself to say “Okay, I’m ready.” After about 20 minutes, I wanted to get it over with and not drag out the goodbyes all evening long. Also my dog was miserable, so I didn’t want her to suffer any longer.
I still maintain that the school system hours should be 9-5. They’ve been roughly 7-3 for eons to accommodate factory/farm schedules – people who do shift work. Unless it’s a rural community or one that is supported by pretty much shift work/factory jobs, then what makes sense is that kids are in school during the same hours parents are at work. Would eliminate the need for all that expensive aftercare and kids would get a little more time in their day to bring recess or PE or art back.
I’ve been thinking about the same thing. Grocery stores sell stamps.
Like many people here, work is flexible about hours. On the other hand, my commute is long enough that a lot of the time its not worth it trying to do a half day. I try to make appointments on Friday when I work half days.
Dogzilla, I agree! If you own a business why not sleep in and stay open later. And the post office - they’re talking about cutting Saturday hours, why not cut Monday hours? They’d make more money.
Where possible, schedule things very early / very late to minimize lost time. Schedule them for work-from-home days, ditto.
Take time off. Make up time later in the day, another day that week, or whatever, if possible.
I’m salaried, and have personal and sick leave I can use if needed. People who don’t have that option or the scheduling flexibility have to eat the time / pay :(.
Huh. I do know that small stores don’t keep the same hours like the big stores (9am to 8 pm), but they usually will offer either Sat. morning or open late morning, 2hr. lunch break and then till 5:30 or 6 pm, and maybe a long Thursday.
I wonder if it’s just automatically taking office hours as opening hours without thinking about what the customers need?
Usually I’m not going to the post office for stamps. In the past year, I’ve had to go there to buy a money order (a foreign visa application required one or a cashier’s check, and the post office is cheaper than the bank), pick up packages, drop off packages, etc.
As others said, you learn to do things on Saturdays, after work or, when necessary, during the day. Tomorrow, I’ll get a haircut. Next week, I’m planning to leave work early one day for a medical appointment. I schedule dental appointments for first thing in the morning (so that I can brush right before going there). My bank is open until 5pm, so I can usually get to a teller on the way home.
