Annual And Null

(It is the Monday after Thanksgiving. A patient calls the office absolutely irate.)

Patient: “I just wanted to tell you I was here last Thursday for my appointment and no one was at the office! What are you going to do about this?!”

Me: “Ma’am, last Thursday was Thanksgiving.”

Patient: “I know that! I gave up time with my family to drive all the way over there to my appointment and you couldn’t even bother to come in! How unprofessional can you be?”

Me: “Ma’am, we’ve NEVER been open on Thanksgiving. Our schedule isn’t even set up to accept appointments on that day.”

Patient: *smugly* “Then how come I have an appointment card for [date]? Hmmm? I’m looking at it right now.”

Me: “Ma’am, I don’t know. Let me look into this.”

(Puts patient on hold and checks schedule. The next is said in my most sickeningly sweet voice.)

Me: “Ma’am, you’re right. You did have an appointment on [date]—”

Patient: “You see?! How unprofessional!”

Me: “—last year. When we were open. The card you have is over a year old.”

Patient: “Well, how was I supposed to know that?!” *click*

Me: *to the dead phone* “Well, maybe if you’d clean your purse out more than once a year?”

This story is part of the Thanksgiving 2022 roundup!

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