Many people go into Quest for the same reason I do - to urinate into a cup because it’s required for a job. So they probably figure the following:
and said, “Sign in at the iPad.” I know how to use an iPad, I had to ask an actual question.
Somebody else is paying, so many of their visitors aren’t the actual “client”
Therefore we don’t need to be particularly nice to them
Because of item #1, their complaints don’t matter very much
So they do things like structure their phone system to make it impossible to speak with a human. Or, as I found today for the first time after a number of visits, get rid of the receptionist. I stood there for several minutes, two employees passed by twice without acknowledging my presence. When I finally got the attention of one, she just pointed at the desk and said, 1. Somebody else is paying, so many of their visitors aren’t the actual “client”
2. Therefore we don’t need to be particularly nice to them
3. Because of item #1, their complaints don’t matter very much
So they do things like structure their phone system to make it impossible to speak with a human. Or, as I found today for the first time after a number of visits, get rid of the receptionist. I stood there for several minutes, two employees passed by twice without acknowledging my presence. When I finally got the attention of one, she just pointed at the desk and said, “Sign in at the iPad.” I know how to use an iPad, I had to ask an actual question.
It’s just plain rude. I don’t blame the employees, I blame the company. And I’m not willing to say the equivalent of, “Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown.” We need to call out this kind of crap.
F#$% me, I had a cut and paste issue. Should have been this:
Many people go into Quest for the same reason I do - to urinate into a cup because it’s required for a job. So they probably figure the following:
Somebody else is paying, so many of their visitors aren’t the actual “client”
Therefore we don’t need to be particularly nice to them
Because of item #1, their complaints don’t matter very much
So they do things like structure their phone system to make it impossible to speak with a human. Or, as I found today for the first time after a number of visits, get rid of the receptionist. I stood there for several minutes, two employees passed by twice without acknowledging my presence. When I finally got the attention of one, she just pointed at the desk and said, “Sign in at the iPad.” I know how to use an iPad, I had to ask an actual question.
It’s just plain rude. I don’t blame the employees, I blame the company. And I’m not willing to say the equivalent of, “Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown.” We need to call out this kind of crap.
I’m there for a reason and they’ve designed their business in a way that dehumanizes the clients and their employees. There’s no excuse for that. We shouldn’t put up with it in any situation that requires personal contact.
But if it matters, one question had to be answered before I signed in.
They don’t want to answer your questions until it’s your turn to be seen. They don’t have a clerical staff; all the on-site Quest employees are there to facilitate the testing. When they see an appointee, they’ll have to answer any questions then anyway. Whereas if someone has to take time to answer the questions of everyone who is too important to sign in and wait their turn, the wait times will be long – inconveniencing everyone else waiting there.
If you’re having a medical problem that needs attention, they’ll take you out of turn; I saw someone who came back in because they were “leaking” from a blood draw, and they didn’t tell her to sign in.
Otherwise, sign in, and wait until you’re called. You’ll get to ask your question then. Yes, maybe it’ll turn out you waited only to find out it’s a wasted trip and you need your documentation or something. But it’s not stealing time from the guy who’s been waiting 20 minutes for them to deal with his issues.
You know, I’m usually very dismissive of “this board leans left / right”, or “the SDMB is hostile to X issue”. I think this board is full of intelligent, amusing and quirky folks. But there is one way we lean - we are often very contrarian.
I suspect that if I had put up a thread saying, “Quest Diagnostics is great - I went there and nobody talked to me, I checked in by iPad, but some jerk ruined it by trying to ask a question!”, I might have gotten responses saying how demeaning that sounds and these companies need to treat people better, and who the hell are you to say somebody shouldn’t ask a question?!
IME, I’ve found that if I can’t get through to someone on the phone, hitting them up on their public facing social media presence usually gets a response. However, that’s not always the case depending on how and/or if they keep on top of their facebook/twitter page.
Beyond that, the next thing you could do is speak with your employer/potential employer, if that’s possible. I understand you may not want to ask them something like “I used [drugs] 5 days ago will it still show up?” or “I’m not [Rx med that will test positive for something], if I bring in the script will you report it as a negative?” But sometimes thems the breaks.
To a certain extent, you have to look at this from the employer’s POV. If a business has a hundred employees and they send 5 random ones to be tested each month plus all the promising applicants. Do they send them to [making the numbers up] a great place with great [to you] customer service that charges $200 or a place like Quest that says "sign here, pee in this, bye and only has 3 people working, but charges $100 each?
IOW, if your new job hinged on your urine test and you had to pay for it, which place would you go to. The expensive one that would let you ask your question or the cheap one that might not?
Many years ago Quest had receptionists - you signed in at the desk, and she/he was able to answer only very basic questions. Otherwise, they just told you to wait until the tech took you inside, and you could ask then.
As you surmised, they soon got rid of their receptionists to increase their bottom line. For a few years you signed in on a pad of paper, while the techs had to come and squint at your signature and match it up to those who made online appointments.
Very recently they went to an automated sign in system that made it much easier for the techs to determine who had a verified appt, and who was just a walk-in.
The new system is much faster than the old one, and the normally 45+ minute wait has been reduced to usually less than 15 minutes (if you arrive at your scheduled appointment time).
Much more than you ever wanted to know about Quest Diagnostics Please don’t be mad at the techs - they are on a tight schedule, and are only following the rules set forth by the company.
Still pissed off? Send a dead tree letter to corporate office stating that you wish for them to rehire receptionists again. Please let us know how that works out.
Ok, now I’m picturing a Monty Python sketch with Terry Jones as the shy bladder man being tested and Carol Cleveland as the loud, overly enthusiastic receptionist.
“Oh, won’t you sit down Mr. Jones! In just few minutes, we’ll have you in the back, willy in hand, peeing into a cup before half our staff!”
<Graham Chapman as old woman> “Dehumanizes you, it does! Making these men wave their willies for you so’s you can see they peed in the cup! Now I only volunteer three days a week!”
A local Quest is where I go for blood draws once or twice a year. Although they do walk-ins, they prefer appointments. I schedule my appointment online. I arrive to an over-full waiting room (all of them walk-ins) and mention that I have an appointment. I get taken straight back and have my blood drawn. When I leave I get some angry glares.
I’ve got the diabeetus, so blood tests are fairly common for me. My local Quest is great, so long as you show up early enough. Doors open at 7:30, so make sure you get there no later than 7:00. I’m usually the first or second in line, and I’m out of there inside of ten minutes. The receptionists are perfectly nice and so are the phlebotomists. I’ve never had a bad experience.
I always allow myself the tiniest amount of schadenfreude when some Quest novice shows up at 7:20, sees the line, and realizes they’ve made a horrible mistake.
I can’t imagine a situation where a question HAD to be answered before you did something as simple as get in line. Because that’s what signing in does for you. It puts you in the queue.
Lightray stated a valid reason for why Quest didn’t do things your way. It doesn’t appear to be purposefully contrarian. Maybe your panties are just bunched up a little too tight.
I hate when I go to a place that is totally automated to speed things up, and people are standing around trying to ask questions and slowing the process down.
I have to wonder if a lot of your post is misdirected angst over the highlighted portion.
Yes, it’s true and relevant that you are the product, not the customer. And front-office functionaries are not usually hired for customer-relation skills in those circumstances.
I’m just amazed you would have expected otherwise, let alone even slightly perturbed by it. Your proclamation “I blame the company. And I’m not willing to say the equivalent of, ‘Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown.’ We need to call out this kind of crap.” is irrelevant, and you full well know it. What leverage do you fantasize you have? Decline to participate? Enjoy unemployment. Recreational outrage? You see how effective that is. Even if every single one of us commiserated and co-raged with you, nothing will change because nothing is wrong to anyone who matters – the folks involved in the financial transaction.
Other than venting, do you envision any kind of meaningful action plan? If not, at least have the clarity to admit that all you are doing is venting, which is both useful and appropriate and not absurdly “internet badass”.
If you want to vent productively, complain to the folks on your side of the financial border – who directed you to take this test. If you can get them interested in your plight, you’ll have an advocate who can actually effect change. If you’re going to complain effectively, complain to someone with leverage and at least some potential interest in speaking for your needs. (Hopefully, that’s someone in your firm; they’re the only one with any hope of both of those together. Not necessarily HR, since we know that HR isn’t in the business of helping employees.)
