You guys seem blessed. My dentist is normally pretty much spot on, but the GP- a wait of an hour is pretty normal.
Total wait time ended up being about 45 minutes. What sucked was that the receptionist was in helping with a patient to cover for one of the techs, meaning myself and another patient were left in the waiting area with no clue what was going on. What really, really sucked was that it was a 5 minute appointment for a follow-up.
He’s a great dentist and explained that he was short staffed due to the call-in, but it seems to be usual to wait 20+ minutes these days, as though he continually overbooks.
If the receptionist was there then I would have explained my disappointment and left after 20 minutes (20 minutes past my appointment time, not when I arrived).
Well, my family normally goes as a group of 6, right when he opens up. So someone has essentially no waiting, while the last one waits quite a while.
Since I have had dental emergencies and had to be squeezed in I try and be very tolerant when someone is squeezed in ahead of me. For any type of apppintment; medical, automotive, veterinary I expect the wait to be long and always take a book.
My time is important to me, and I can understand where those of you who leave never again to darken your care provider’s door are coming from. For me, having providers I’m comfortable with is more important. Right now I feel like my primary physician, gynecologist, dentist and eye doctor are all the right ones for me. I’d rather wait an extra 30 or 40 minutes than try and find new ones of any of those.
One notable difference from the OPs experience though, is that all of the practices I visit have some support staff keeping those of us who are waiting filled in. One of the most crucial components of client retention is managing their expectations. If I was left to wait over 30 minutes with no communication at all I might reconsider returning there.
My dentist usually is spot on. So is my GP. But then, I always try to schedule for first thing in the morning so that they have less of a chance to get late.
Part of why I like my dentist so much is not just his skill, but his office and staff are awesome, too. The longest I’ve waited was 10 minutes, and I was 5 minutes early.
My GP is another story. I’ve waited 30 minutes for her. BUT, she’s also gotten me in on the same day when I’ve been sick. She sits down and talks to me, too.
I have the best dentist in town and my sister works in the office as a PDA. I never wait any longer than 5 minutes.
My dentist is great, but man, this guy never learned time management. 30 min wait past appointment is standard.
He’s really, really good at what he does but his appointment-keeping skill is non-existent. I stay with him because he’s done a few potentially miserable procedures on me that have gone by flawlessly with no pain. I’m talking root canals. Dude even drilled and filled a cavity I had a year ago with no anesthetic:
Dentist: “Hey, I think I can do this without anesthetic. It’d save you some money, plus you won’t be drooling all day. I could always stop and give you the shot if it starts hurting. Let me know if it does.”
Me: “Go for it.”
…20 minutes later
Dentist: “kk, we’re done!”
Me: "Really? I didn’t feel anything.’
Dentist: “Skills!”
The flip side was an appointment I had scheduled for 11:00 AM. I show up at 10:55 AM. Office is dark and locked. I wait until 11:20, then leave. His receptionist calls me, angry, at 11:30 - “You didn’t show up for your appointment!”
That made me more than a little angry, and I chewed her out. But otherwise he’s great, so I accept the lousy scheduling and plan to wait 30 min for every appointment.
Your appointment was for 4:20 and you expected punctuality?
I’m actually an outlier; I’ve walked out of dental appointments. That’s how I end up going three or four years between visits. If I ever get a cavity that might change, but for now I look for any excuse.
My GP habitually runs late. But this is because he won’t end an appointment if he thinks that there’s still something that his patient hasn’t brought up. He’ll also see people who are having problems TODAY. Since I benefit from this, I’m willing to put up with him running late.
My podiatrist, on the other hand, is almost always smack on time. However, I usually don’t need extra time on an appointment. His office staff know about how much time to allot for a diabetic foot checkup.
For my dentist, never more than a few minutes in the waiting room. For my regular internist maybe 5 minutes. One reason is that I always try to get the first dental or doctor’s appointment in a day, like at 9am. I once had medical professionals who kept me waiting and waiting when I would show up right on time. After a few visits like that I looked for someone else. Who needs that kind of aggravation?