Your Call Will Be Returned In 24 to 48 Business Hours
Today I had quite a long to-do list and the two most important things on the list were to re-schedule my appointment that I cancelled with my oncologist and the other was to re-schedule my appointment with my neurologist. Now, don't get me wrong, I genuinely like (most of) the doctors that I see on a regular basis. But it drives me a little bit crazy when I have to leave multiple messages to get a call back. I've been seeing my oncologist since January 2015 and I have seen the differences in her office staff between then and now. When I first started seeing Dr. Z she had a medical assistant that I absolutely adored. She made me feel comfortable and made me laugh during the worst time of my life. Whenever I called the office I just went straight to her direct line because I didn't want to talk to anyone else. Alas, I went to my appointment in February and she was gone. For the last two years I have gone to Dr. Z every three months and when I came into the office without seeing her I was devastated. I was informed that she still worked for the hospital but was now working directly in the chemotherapy ward with a different doctor. I have had to reschedule two appointments since Victoria left and both have taken multiple days to actually reschedule and more than one voicemail left by me. The difference between an effective communicator and an ineffective communicator have made a very real impact on my life and my stress level. It is the same situation at the neurologist I have started seeing this year. I have to leave two or three voicemails for the doctor's office before someone actually calls me back. Or, even better, I call them and leave a message then they call me back and I somehow miss the call, and then call RIGHT BACK and they don't answer. Where do they go in those two minutes? Do they just disconnect their line? Do they go for a long walk on the beach? These are life's important questions.
So, why do I even have to call to make an appointment? My primary doctor does everything online, including appointments and prescription refills. Why haven't all offices switched to this? It is more efficient and possibly more cost-effective in the long run. I am the kind of person who would rather not have to talk to someone on the phone anyways. If there is an option to order something online you can bet I will do that WAY before even thinking about calling a company.
I think the doctor's office situation and the differences between the practitioners that I see effectively shows how communication is evolving. The days of people wanting the "personal touch" of a phone call is gone and society wants the ease of just clicking a few buttons to get what they need. The level of excitement I had when the Chinese food restaurant near my house started doing online ordering is almost embarrassing. I use Amazon for 75% of my shopping for the sole reason of avoiding human interaction coupled with the convenience of the Amazon app (and I have Amazon Prime so I get free 2-day shipping on most items). As much as I enjoy cooking, I absolutely loathe going to the grocery store. I have to put on pants and leave my house, just to be surrounded by strangers who often have screaming children in tow. Have you ever tried finding a parking spot at Target in December? Or have you tried parking at Walmart when any major holiday is coming up soon? The mall? Publix? Even the post office! And you can always count on that one person driving their car the wrong way down a one-way aisle who look at you like YOU'RE the idiot - because how dare you question them and their choices. But isn't that humanity in a nutshell? Doing what we want and then if we are wrong we just power through and blame it on everyone surrounding us. It's even better when they honk or give you the finger when all you are trying to do is find a parking spot that isn't a mile away from the store.
During my Master's program my professors have talked a lot about the evolution of the newspaper, mass media, social media, the Internet, smartphones, and essentially everything that is related to a form of communication (which is most things these days). We want to communicate without having to experience the hassle of physical human interaction. We want virtual interaction because then we can be more detached from a situation if needed and virtual interaction can be anywhere at any time through the magic of the smartphone. If any form of technology were to crash we would be in a state of panic. Communication is becoming more and more digitized and, for the most part, I'm on board. Communication evolving past human interaction makes sense in many situations and is genuinely just easier as well as more convenient. Moving forward with technology past the human error is happening now and will continue to progress. But what happens if it fails? Well, I know I will have to keep making doctor's appointments by phone and that is not a thought that thrills me - to say the least.
So, why do I even have to call to make an appointment? My primary doctor does everything online, including appointments and prescription refills. Why haven't all offices switched to this? It is more efficient and possibly more cost-effective in the long run. I am the kind of person who would rather not have to talk to someone on the phone anyways. If there is an option to order something online you can bet I will do that WAY before even thinking about calling a company.
I think the doctor's office situation and the differences between the practitioners that I see effectively shows how communication is evolving. The days of people wanting the "personal touch" of a phone call is gone and society wants the ease of just clicking a few buttons to get what they need. The level of excitement I had when the Chinese food restaurant near my house started doing online ordering is almost embarrassing. I use Amazon for 75% of my shopping for the sole reason of avoiding human interaction coupled with the convenience of the Amazon app (and I have Amazon Prime so I get free 2-day shipping on most items). As much as I enjoy cooking, I absolutely loathe going to the grocery store. I have to put on pants and leave my house, just to be surrounded by strangers who often have screaming children in tow. Have you ever tried finding a parking spot at Target in December? Or have you tried parking at Walmart when any major holiday is coming up soon? The mall? Publix? Even the post office! And you can always count on that one person driving their car the wrong way down a one-way aisle who look at you like YOU'RE the idiot - because how dare you question them and their choices. But isn't that humanity in a nutshell? Doing what we want and then if we are wrong we just power through and blame it on everyone surrounding us. It's even better when they honk or give you the finger when all you are trying to do is find a parking spot that isn't a mile away from the store.
During my Master's program my professors have talked a lot about the evolution of the newspaper, mass media, social media, the Internet, smartphones, and essentially everything that is related to a form of communication (which is most things these days). We want to communicate without having to experience the hassle of physical human interaction. We want virtual interaction because then we can be more detached from a situation if needed and virtual interaction can be anywhere at any time through the magic of the smartphone. If any form of technology were to crash we would be in a state of panic. Communication is becoming more and more digitized and, for the most part, I'm on board. Communication evolving past human interaction makes sense in many situations and is genuinely just easier as well as more convenient. Moving forward with technology past the human error is happening now and will continue to progress. But what happens if it fails? Well, I know I will have to keep making doctor's appointments by phone and that is not a thought that thrills me - to say the least.
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