Making It A Point To Make An Appointment

(My favorite thing is when patients call to make appointments, and they clearly haven’t gotten their lives together before picking up the phone. These scenarios could go one of several different ways:)

Me: “Dr. [Name]’s office.”

Customer: “Yes, I’d like to make an appointment.”

Me: “All right! Is there a day that works well for you?”

Customer: “Oh… I don’t know… Let me get my calendar and call you back.”

(Next caller:)

Me: “Dr. [Name]’s office.”

Customer #2: “Yes, I’d like to make an appointment. Any time is fine. What is your next available?”

Me: “We have a 2:00 tomorrow.”

Customer #2: “Oh I can’t do tomorrow.”

Me: “How about 10:00 the next day?”

Customer #2: “No, I have another appointment somewhere else.”

Me: “…why don’t you tell me when the best time for you is.”

Customer #2: “Oh, I’m really actually very flexible. I can do pretty much whenever. Just not those times you gave me already.”

Me: *decides to try one more time* “Okay… how about 1:30 on Monday?”

Customer #2: “No, I can’t do that.”

(My other favorite thing is when they call saying they will be late for their appointment but that they are “on their way!” and then they walk in with a fresh drink from Starbucks in their hand.)