Unfiltered Story #216068

I work at the front desk in the outpatient area of a local hospital, getting patients checked in for their appointments. After being checked in, patients have to be registered before they can go have their tests (signing consent forms, making the co-payment, etc.). It’s a busy morning so there are several people already seated in the waiting room, waiting to be registered. A woman walks in and tells me her name so I can check her in, telling me her appointment is “right now.”
Me: Ok, ma’am, I’ve got you checked in; if you’ll just have a seat, one of our registrars will be with you as soon as –
Woman (interrupting me): My appointment is at 8:30, and it is now 8:30.
Me: We will get you registered as soon as possible, ma’am.
(She sits down and the next few people in line are called to get registered. I eventually hear the woman on her phone, saying that registration is moving at a “snail’s pace” and she doesn’t know why it’s taking so long. Bear in mind, it’s only been a few minutes, and the only reason she is late is because she arrived late and there were people already here so of course they went first. However, she gets impatient enough to come to the desk and complain to me about the wait.)
Woman: My appointment was at 8:30! They are waiting for me over there! They are actually waiting in the room ready to do my test! Why is this taking so long? This is ridiculous!
Me: I’m sorry for the wait, ma’am; we just had a few people ahead of you when you arrived, so they had to be registered first –
Woman (interrupting me): MY APPOINTMENT WAS AT 8:30! There is no reason this should be taking so long! There is no one even working down here!
(She gestures to the desk near mine, which is only empty because the registrar was having computer trouble and moved to the computer beside me, where she is definitely working hard)
Me: I’m very sorry about the wait, ma’am. You’re next in line, so we will get you in just a moment.
(The woman sits back down, muttering and complaining to herself because she actually expected to be put at the front of the line ahead of everyone else, and she didn’t get special treatment despite acting like a spoiled brat. The registrar beside me refuses to assist her, though the patient isn’t aware that she’s being pawned off on someone else, and the next available registrar takes her to another office to get her registered, finally getting her out of the waiting room. I understand waiting can be frustrating, but when you’re the one who’s late and there are already people ahead of you, to whine about not getting seen immediately is just childish)